What are the chances of Forest Hill being the 1st plastic bag-free Sainsburys?
I'm gauging interest to make this a reality.
It would need community support - but then people's ongoing insistence on putting newspapers in the bin BESIDE the recycling bin, my hopes aren't high.

so pray, please explain how you are expected to take your purchases away if you come on foot! And don't say walk!!!

I absolutely hate it, on the rare occassion I shop in M&S when the cashier within foods asks "would you like a bag", for one item that's fine, but when I have enough to fill a bag and haven't got a bag with me how else do they expect me to carry my purchases home?

ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Take one with you?

Tomangel, I think it's a noble plan. I would be in full support.
And yes, if you shop on foot it's not hard to bring bags with you! I always carry a few spares in my backpack!

I want supermarkets to give me bags. I don't want to put my nice fresh groceries into some rancid old sack. I was cross enough when Sainsbury's started using recycled bags, which are rubbish. My milk fell out of one and split on the floor - that's a lot of effort for a cow just wasted - just to ease some eco warrior's conscience. The next thing people will demand is for chicken breast just handed over without any packaging. Bring your own jam jars and fill them up with apple juice. In fact fill your car boot up with a load of storage boxes and go around Sainsbury's filling them up. I'll have a pocket full of sundried tomatoes please and can you fill up this old Tuna can with Colgate....

Keep the bags.

I can only assume that Deano has a fine sense of humour :-) There are actually some pretty good suggestions in there, except perhaps for the tuna can toothpaste.

A serious point is that even those of us with a conscience do actually forget to bring bags. I would prefer a donation to charity if you need a bag. I think that people would soon get used to bringing nice, freshly pressed, reused bags to put their groceries in.

Did you really spill your milk? I mean honestly? I, and everyone I know have managed to successfully use those bags without incident.

The question is, what’s more important? Your convenience, or the environment, that can be addressed through your simple foresight of bringing with you a reusable bag, like people once did before plastic bags.

It's this vehement opposition to something that benefits us long-term that I struggle to understand. Why are people so resistant to positivity? A plastic bag takes over 400 years to biodegrade, and is alien to every natural environment; how can that be a good thing?

It's the Deanos that see it as preaching,

My cloth shopping bags are easily chucked in the washing machine whenever they get dirty.

And in the rare chance I get my shopping delivered, I send those plastic bags right back with the driver.

I have a reusable bag full of reusable bags.

Always decided to go to the supermarket off the cuff and did not have any bags so paid for more reusable bags.

Once it got to the point of having about 40 of said bags I has now resorted bag to using normal plastic bags. Which I collect up and then bring back to the supermarket for recycling.

I do also have a shoulder bag with lots of space that I use and try to carry a couple of spare bags around in it, but once they are used I often forget to put them back in.

I try and save bags but in the scheme of the collapse of the world economy why worry about such a little thing.

You would think the Government would have more important concerns

I use Turtle String Bags just like the young man is carrying as he is escorting his Lady friend to a lovely night at The Capitol.



Deano should take note. The attractive young lady really doesn't care for the man. She's got her eyes on the reusable bags. The ladies love it. Recycling is sexy. Don't you want some of that?

Can't believe some people hadn't thought of taking their own bag when out shopping!

I hate it when the assistant automatically puts your goods in a fresh plastic bag without asking you.

Yes, it would be great to have a local initiative against the excessive use of plastic bags.

Cellar Door - that's no young lady. Take a closer look. It's Madonna. if I were that young man I'd drop my shopping and make a run for it, pronto.

Madonna in Forest Hill? I suppose it was bound to happen with all the attention we are getting with the new Overground arriving.
Very well spotted, rshdunlop.

I'm a big fan of The Capitol. But I'll certainly be giving that drinking establishment a wide berth if Madonna has taken it upon herself to be popping in there for a Beer and a Burger at £3.99.

BTW, this thread may be moved and added onto Linda Barker and Other Celeb Types in the Area.

Sainsburys sell little black shopping bags that fold up inside theselves that would fit in a pocket or a bag and when opened out are quite large and robust.

I never liked Madonna much, so if using bio-green-eco bags is going to snare a 50 year old trollope then I'm going to stick with the c**p orange ones that split when you breathe on them because they're made of 50% plastic and 50% recycled Romanian trousers. On a more serious point, if I were in the minority (which I obviously am on this site) and everyone brought their own bags, there wouldn't be a problem. You would all have your consciences clear and I could have my bags and be the only person in FH filling up the landfill and strangling ducklings with my selfish sack stashing.

Just been to Savacentre and had a Dickens of a job tying to open the bags at the self checkout, so rather than get rid of them they should concentrate on making them easier to open.

Deano, very good choice. You are obviously wise beyond your years.

I'm now contemplating ditching the Turtle String Bags just in case Madonna starts getting ideas about me.

We give enough money to these supermarkets why do we have to buy recycled bags off them - give them to us for free for handing over our hard earned cash to you and advertising your shop!!!