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17/07/2009

Bagging a bright idea

Entry from 'Thoughts from the Kerbside' - The Big Wheelie Bin Blog

A thoughtful and sometimes humourous look at the world of waste, brought to you by industry observers. We'd like to create a vibrant blogger community going forward, so if you'd like to become a regular blogger for LAWR, please get in touch - we'd love to hear from you!

It's a shame the leading supermarkets have just missed out on hitting their voluntary targets to cut single-use carrier bags by 2%. The target was 50% and they collectively achieved a 48% reduction - still a figure not to be sniffed at.

However, I have an idea on how they can make up that elusive 2% shortfall. Like many, I find my weekly food shop a rather arduous affair and so order it over the internet. Cue the weekly Sainsbury's home delivery van which always tends to arrive on time outside my house, as you receive a Ł10 voucher if it's late.

But I am always amazed at the number of plastic bags the driver drops on my doorstep - mainly orange ones, but sometimes intermingled with blue ones (containing substitute items) and even the odd red one (items with a shorter shelf life).

Some items even hog a carrier bag all to themselves - usually a box of six eggs, I suppose because it's deemed a delicate item ... or a frozen packet of peas, I suppose because it's extra cold. But then another bag will just have three confectionery items, or maybe a six-pack of draught Guinness (my consumption habits are slowly being revealed here ... hmm).

My point is you really don't need all these surplus bags - with a little bit of strategic packing, my weekly shop could easily fit into half the number of bags delivered to me. So if I get 10 bags a week, this could be slashed to five - that soon adds up over 52 weeks (260 bags to be precise).

I might just whizz a letter off to Sainsbury's head honcho Justin King and maybe he'll take me up on my suggestion - I'm sure it's a baggy no brainer.

Maxine Perella, editor of LAWR

permanent link

Is waste still a dirty word when it comes to public perception?

Yes, they don't see the potential value of it
Maybe, but attitudes are slowly changing
No, it has almost become sexy!

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