General Chat

But do you all think it would be a good idea to go back to serving shops, my reason for this is it would reduce the plastic pollution because people would use their own bag(s), so a lot less plastic pollution which is the main topic of reports in newspapers and is horrendous.
It would be nice to hear other points of veiw on this :-)

I have always used my own bags
I have them in the car and have a folded up one in my handbag

When I go to the supermarket the majority of shoppers are using their own bags especially since the 5p charge came in

It would stimulate more human interaction too.

my mum had a sturdy shopping bag, Fruit, vegetables were loose in the bottom then eggs etc, one time when mum was in hospital and I did the shopping at age 14 I had just got out of the shop when the eggs fell out and some broke, the shop owner took the broken ones out and replaced them, I expected to pay but no charge for the broken eggs, compared to today that is good customer service. :-)

Since the plastic bag charge, I take a rucksack when I go shopping, with one of those bags that fold up really small in a pocket.

We always have canvas and cotton shopping bags in the back of the car .................. we originally got most of those bags free when we attended conferences. Originally filled with the "bumpf" provided by the meeting organisers, the bags were brought home and kept.

We've been using those bags for about 10 years, and for about 15 years before that we used to request paper bags from the store instead of plastic.

I have another supply of the bags on the shelf in the hallway, so I can grab one as I go out or pack in the suitcase when we're going away "in case".

I also used to use much stronger waterproof canvas bags with top zips from the late 1960s when I was working, to carry my lunch, a book and any other necessities ................ I still have a couple of those, one of which is at least 30 years old. I still use that one when I go to physio or a doctor's appointment and need my book, a bottle of water, etc.

Plus we have at least 4 bags either given out free or for a minimum charge by an online book club that we use .......... waterproof canvas, with top zipper.

I have a feeling that ZZzzz was talking about bringing back stores with a counter where the customers had a direct interaction with the shopkeeper's staff rather than self service. Such a change would of course mean a drastic change in store layout and time spent shopping might rise, quite a bit if the old fashioned habit of yakking caught on. And everybody could flash their uber cool green / Fortnums / Brentanos / Uni of Waterloo logos. No plastic.

There are still a few stores like this in both groceries, butchers, fishmongers, bakery, electrical stuff, plumbing and general d-i-y. shopping in the compared to supermarkets is much lress stressful and no question of plastic bags even if you want one.

Open all hours

I think it would be nice but can't see it happening in this fast-moving world.

What surprises me is the number of water bottles that seem to end up in the sea.
How do they get there?
Single use bottles are pointless in a country with potable water literally on tap.
You only need one bottle and to refill it.

isn't there some thing about being "dangerous" to refill plastic bottles?


rubbish, I am sure

using those sports type bottles...I make up fruit juice mixture and freeze it, half filling the bottle...take it out of the freezer as a bottled ice lolly, top it up with tap water.. and its a handy drink for a car journey

It's lovely to look back with fondness at the old type shops.
But often people didn't have fridges or freezers to do a big shop, so only bought food for a couple of days at a time and often just daily. Jobs were mostly 9-5....8-6 etc not 24 hours shift patterns we see today. Women once married stayed in the home & shopped daily.

Trouble is the population today in towns & cities.
Now it's so vast customer queues would be down the street even with several of these shops in each area. if we abolished big supermarkets in favour of more old type personal shops.

We have a small Co-Op on our parade of local shops, it's self serve but manned tills. Can't even imagine it going self serve, queues are often long at busy times, and slow moving. It would be quicker to go milk a cow sometimes rather than pick up a pint ;-) :-)

Bring in the refundable tax on plastic bottles, works in other countries. My son worked in Norway & they used to save all their plastic bottles & get money back on them. I remember when we used to get money back on glass bottles (no plastic ones then) Maybe if the kids had to pay an extra 20p on each drink they would think twice before chucking them on the ground.

We deserve better than trite gimmicks from our Government.

On the subject of plastic bottles - do you remember the time when you could travel, say, to and from school - without needing to drink?
Why the obsession now?

Well, I know really - the claptrap - half a report - about ingesting 'X' litres of liquid a day.
This was then 'interpreted' as water.
There's a lot of water in food we eat - we don't need to drink an extra bucket full of the tasteless stuff :-|

When it was discovered I only had one kidney - I was 54 - it transpires I had a perfectly healthy kidney :-D
My nephrologist asked how much water I drank daily. I don't know why (considering my kidney was health), but I felt guilty replying 'none'.
Neither do I drink fizzy stuff (like coca cola - champagne is a different matter :-D), I drink lots of 'breakfast' tea - no herbal stuff - and a few cups of instant (but good quality) coffee daily. I also imbibe on wine, and ale.

Well, you could have knocked me down with a feather when she said asked if the wine was white or red. 'Red' I replied - 'Good' she said - more minerals than white!!
The worst thing I could have drunk was - water, and spirits.

A single kidney needs minerals more than a pair does - and water washes out minerals.
The tea, red wine and ale are extremely good for my kidney - she did point out that she, personally, wasn't concerned about the health of my liver - that was the job of another consultant. :-S

Good thinking Hilary!!

My in laws never moved on from daily shopping in the 50s and would be most put out if they went in a shoe shop and weren't served immediately in the 'old way' where you said what you wanted and the assistant would choose a few examples for you to try. I don't think the word 'browsing' was in their dictionary.

I remember how intimidating shopping used to be in some shops. Standing at the counter in a clothes shop and asking to see a blue cardigan that would be neatly stacked in it's cellophane wrapper with lots of others. If you then wanted a different size or to look at other colours, the assistant's sigh would almost be deafening as she climbed up steps to find others for you to look at and then have to repack in the cellophane again. I always felt it was almost obligatory to buy something if you put them to any trouble!!

I find most shoppers bring their own bags in supermarkets since the charge on them and you don't see many stuck in hedges anymore! I think putting pressure on manufacturers and all their packaging would help.

A lot of plastic pollution is from laziness and littering. People can't be bothered to carry a lightweight plastic bottle home, yet years ago we only had heavy glass bottles, yet there was less litter from them. Children didn't all carry bottled drinks to school either and they are even provided free for exams nowadays. Less litter bins about doesn't help either.

prepacked food should be abolished all together, it would save a lot of plastic being made in the first place and it doesn’t give us more time plus some foods are thrown away because the pack has to much in it and costs more than loose, result a lot less plastic and cheaper food bill, which brings me back to serving shops when you bought what you needed and your own bag(s)to put it all in. ;-)