Asda Doing Their Bit

[katex]

Originally Posted by jambutty

How long before this government issues instructions that we have to use both sides of the toilet paper?

Metaphoric though that may be .. deserves some Karma.

I was in yesterday afternoon .. there were bags before you actually got to the counter with notice if you wanted one and price. Of course, the young lady asked if I wanted to buy one before I loaded .. remarked "Do I have a choice ?" She replied "Well, you can have some of the free ones if you wish". Being a whimp I said .. No .. go on ... will have a new green one (hadn't a big buy this week).

Remarked to this sweet little thing that "I bet you getting some stick, aren't you?" .. her expression was priceless .. not their fault, although one would hope the Management have preempted this situation and instructions to their staff on how to handle it.

Thing is .. forgot to buy some small bin liners, and had to chuck the remains of my dinner in a huge Jane Norman bag !!

[Loz]

I personally think it's a great idea buying reusable bags wherever they are from.
It really isn't that big a deal taking them with you when you shop and it is better for the enviroment too so what's the harm?
If you take a normal carrier bag from a supermarket it has their name all over it so i don't see the big deal in buying a reusable one with the supermarkets name all over it.

[jambutty]

Originally Posted by Loz

I personally think it's a great idea buying reusable bags wherever they are from.
It really isn't that big a deal taking them with you when you shop and it is better for the enviroment too so what's the harm?
If you take a normal carrier bag from a supermarket it has their name all over it so i don't see the big deal in buying a reusable one with the supermarkets name all over it.

Yes but the ‘normal’ carrier bag was not charged for.

But if you are happy to advertise a supermarket and pay THEM for the privilege then that is up to you.

I object to being used as a bill board and having to pay them for being one.

It is the same with Sky and Virgin etc. You pay to view their programmes that show adverts where the advertiser has paid Sky or Virgin etc. to show them to you. So in effect you are paying to view adverts.

This paying for a re-usable carrier bag, even if it is exchanged free of charge when it no longer becomes usable, is just a cynical money grabbing ploy under the guise of being green. I’ll bet that more people just forget to re-use them so have to buy more each shopping trip than those who re-use them.

Then there is the question of re-using the free bags as bin liners etc. If we, in the interests of hygiene, want to wrap our waste before dumping it in the none-recyclable bin we will have to buy bin liners and that will negate any saving made by stopping free carrier bags.

If Asda is so keen on going ‘green’ it should use its clout to reduce manufacturer packaging and also look at its own packaging policy. Do we really need a bunch of bananas pre-packed in a plastic bag? And other large fruit. Does a whole cucumber really need to be shrink wrapped?

What about all the bottles, tins and cartons that are less than full?

Has anyone noticed how runny jam is these days? Once upon a time not too long ago you could scoop jam out of the jar with a knife or ‘jam’ spoon (if you were posh). Today you have to pour it out or waste time trying to scoop a liquid with a knife.

[Mr Aleks]

Originally Posted by jambutty

Armed with 4 free carrier bags gained last week dispersed about my body I set out on my weekly foray to Asda, Grimshaw Park, Blackburn ready to make my point about the carrier bag policy change.

The first thing that I noticed was that there was no ‘Greeter’ around so that sort of spiked my guns a bit. There is no point in whinging at the checkout people. Although they could report back to their supervisor I suppose but it wasn’t really their doing.

Amongst the display of sweets etc adjacent to each checkout I spotted Hessian shopping bags for £1 suitably daubed with the Asda name. Remaining icily calm and collected I asked the checkout girl what the deal was with carrier bags.

Pointing to the dispenser that used to hold the free carrier bags she declared, “These are now 5p each. But they are re-usable.” However the cost of these bags was not posted on the dispenser. In fact there was nothing to indicate that these new carrier bags were for sale and not free. The customer finds out when he asks for one.

The bags that she was referring to were being promoted as being made from re-cycled plastic. I wonder how many people mis-read that and assumed that the bags themselves were re-cyclable? The bags, coloured green, had the Asda name prominently in the centre.

Anyone like to guess which colour is normally associated with Asda and has been long before the green issue became an issue? Correct – Asda livery is green.

So even if these 5p bags did not sport the Asda name it would still be obvious which supermarket they came from.

I declined the offer of the new carrier bags loudly enough for nearby shoppers to hear me, with a comment about not paying Asda money so that I could advertise their store, which prompted the checkout girl to produce a few of the old free ones.

You dont half talk rubbish. There is something called customer services, you should try them they seem to a better job than a greeter. A greeter greets you so thats why they are called a greeter. They are not called target for grumpy boring old men to moan at.

[Mr Aleks]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

Did you take some free ones then?
And will you do what Mick does and turn them inside out?(though you can still clearly see the Asda brand name)

You are kidding right? How sad. Who really cares if you can see the name? A bag as a purpose and thta is to carry items. It doesnt do a better or worse job either way you put it.

[Mr Aleks]

Originally Posted by jambutty

It’s not the cost but the principle of paying for a carrier bag that bears the issuing store details giving them free advertising.

In any case a decrease in the use of plastic bags will be offset by people buying bin liners.

How long before this government issues instructions that we have to use both sides of the toilet paper?

With the amount of rubbish you talk fairly soon id say.

[flashy]

wow someone's in a bad mood today

[shakermaker]

It's a sad old state when there's a seven page discussion on carrier bags.

[flashy]

save the earth and all that Shaker

[MargaretR]

Originally Posted by flashytart

wow someone's in a bad mood today

.. and it is only a few weeks since he was being nice - knew it wouldn't last

[jambutty]

Over the counter medicines like Aspirin and Paracetamol (and prescription medicines) now come in “not so child proof” blister packs inside a box, when in the not too distant past they came in re-usable glass bottles with child proof tops. Then came throw away plastic bottles but still with child proof tops.

Of course the cost of a tablet in a blister pack is more than it was in a bottle.

[jaysay]

Well all these ideas as reusable bags and cutting down on these flimsy throw away bags looses a bit of something when, on a Saturday morning they run out of these new bags at the Accrington store, then try to stuff everything into these flimsy throw aways and the girl on the till has to do the packing. The saying the best intentions of Men and Mice come to mind

[Loz]

Well i know for a fact that Tesco is committed to reducing the amount of packaging on it's food and probably other major supermarkets are doing the same.
These things don't just happen overnight Jambutty.

[pipinfort]

I did notice that some of my fruit and veg from tesco today came in `Compostable` packaging, so thats what i have done, i`ll see in a couple of weeks if its started to break down.

[jambutty]

Originally Posted by Loz

These things don't just happen overnight Jambutty.

Price rises do.

A few years ago you couldn’t buy loose tomatoes, they were all packaged up in trays and vacuum packed. Actually that isn’t strictly true. There was a box of loose tomatoes but only one box and when they were gone that was it until the shelves were restocked overnight. It was the same for other fruit and veg.

It was only because of people like me who constantly bugged them to get loose fruit and veg restored in quantity that we can buy as many as we like instead of being dictated to by some company policy maker.

We, the customer, (who is supposed to be always right) should keep nagging away until all fruit and veg is sold loose and not pre-packed.