5p charge for plastic bags

Charltonparklane said:

Right this Is a fcking carve up.
Yes, Id be the first to admit I used more than enough carrier bags in Tesco, morrisons, Sainsburys whatever and used them as bins.

However, took my daughter shopping the other night for a bday treat and bought some new clothes etc.

Took the bundle to the till, £130 quid worth of clothes,
'Thank you sir, do you need a bag?'
My first thought was well she aint gonna fcking wear them all now is she
'Errm, yes please'
'Ok , they are 5p each'

Just a fcking jump on the bandwagon joke.

Supermarkets, yes, clothes, toy shops, etc no, absolute piss take.

Tell them you'll pay 5p for the bag but want 5% discount on the clothes otherwise you leave without buying.

IA said:

Charltonparklane said:

Don't know mate

f each one of their plastic bags holds on average £60 of clothes surely they could pay the tax themselves

I think they have to charge if it's a plastic bag, and they get a £200 fine if they don't.

Also found out that it's not a tax and the retailers don't have to give any money to the government. They can deduct "reasonable costs" from what revenue is collected and then have to give the rest to charity. I'm not a fan of this part.

However, the simple solution would be for clothes retailers to switch to paper bags, for which there is no cost. Supermarkets could also make available the boxes left over after packing the shelves as these could be used to hold groceries.

They don't have to give the money to charity if they so chose, although there is an expectation (whatever that means) from the government that they will, less the 1p VAT and any reasonable expenses they chose to deduct.

It's all about changing the behaviour of consumers, hence there is no exemption for expensive items i.e. that £20k Rolex that came in that fancy box must cost you £20,000.05 (now that's a conversation I'd like to overhear).

IA said:

Charltonparklane said:

Don't know mate

f each one of their plastic bags holds on average £60 of clothes surely they could pay the tax themselves

I think they have to charge if it's a plastic bag, and they get a £200 fine if they don't.

Also found out that it's not a tax and the retailers don't have to give any money to the government. They can deduct "reasonable costs" from what revenue is collected and then have to give the rest to charity. I'm not a fan of this part.

However, the simple solution would be for clothes retailers to switch to paper bags, for which there is no cost. Supermarkets could also make available the boxes left over after packing the shelves as these could be used to hold groceries.

The simple solution applied in Lidl stores for years.

Charltonparklane said:

DiscoCAFC said:

What is all the fuss about with paying more for a 5p bag? If you had 5 bags worth of food which you buy weekly which is 25p, so in total you would only pay £1 extra a month.

Bring your own bag it's not rocket science.

Yes I agree but my point was Clothing stores, River Island, Next, etc charging you for a bag after you've spent £110 plus and still walk around advertising their brand.
THEY should pay the 5p tax

Im not taking a fcking Asda bag for life to a Clothes shop, Ive got some self respect

I understand your point but that doesn't bother me in the slightest. If I am shopping in bluewater and I buy my first item, I always ask for a big bag so I can put my other items in if I am buying another item without having so many different bags to carry.

Callumcafc said:

In our phone shop we HAVE to charge 5p for a plastic bag. It's the law. We have paper bags which we are able to use for free though.

The point of the law is that it isn't a tax. That's what some people aren't getting.

I'm sure businesses would happily take the hit of 5p on a £100+ purchase but it's meant to be paid by the purchaser, otherwise it doesn't work as a deterrent...

HAVE TO

Does Katrien do a bit of moonlighting there?

:-)

Callumcafc said:

In our phone shop we HAVE to charge 5p for a plastic bag. It's the law. We have paper bags which we are able to use for free though.

The point of the law is that it isn't a tax. That's what some people aren't getting.

I'm sure businesses would happily take the hit of 5p on a £100+ purchase but it's meant to be paid by the purchaser, otherwise it doesn't work as a deterrent...

If I'd spent £100 + in your employers shop and wanted a bag that much, I'm afraid that 5p would cost your company the business.

Exiled_Addick said:

Callumcafc said:

In our phone shop we HAVE to charge 5p for a plastic bag. It's the law. We have paper bags which we are able to use for free though.

The point of the law is that it isn't a tax. That's what some people aren't getting.

I'm sure businesses would happily take the hit of 5p on a £100+ purchase but it's meant to be paid by the purchaser, otherwise it doesn't work as a deterrent...

Does the 5p include VAT?

Um I guess?? Logically it would. But then again... I'm not sure.

T.C.E said:

Callumcafc said:

In our phone shop we HAVE to charge 5p for a plastic bag. It's the law. We have paper bags which we are able to use for free though.

The point of the law is that it isn't a tax. That's what some people aren't getting.

I'm sure businesses would happily take the hit of 5p on a £100+ purchase but it's meant to be paid by the purchaser, otherwise it doesn't work as a deterrent...

If I'd spent £100 + in your employers shop and wanted a bag that much, I'm afraid that 5p would cost your company the business.

Lucky we have the paper bags in that case. ;-)

But really, if we don't charge and we get caught, we're fined. If I don't charge and my manager finds out, I'm in the brown stuff.

OR how about shops charge £5 a bag, that'll be a proper deterrent.

Callumcafc said:

Exiled_Addick said:

Callumcafc said:

In our phone shop we HAVE to charge 5p for a plastic bag. It's the law. We have paper bags which we are able to use for free though.

The point of the law is that it isn't a tax. That's what some people aren't getting.

I'm sure businesses would happily take the hit of 5p on a £100+ purchase but it's meant to be paid by the purchaser, otherwise it doesn't work as a deterrent...

Does the 5p include VAT?

Um I guess?? Logically it would. But then again... I'm not sure.

T.C.E said:

Callumcafc said:

In our phone shop we HAVE to charge 5p for a plastic bag. It's the law. We have paper bags which we are able to use for free though.

The point of the law is that it isn't a tax. That's what some people aren't getting.

I'm sure businesses would happily take the hit of 5p on a £100+ purchase but it's meant to be paid by the purchaser, otherwise it doesn't work as a deterrent...

If I'd spent £100 + in your employers shop and wanted a bag that much, I'm afraid that 5p would cost your company the business.

Lucky we have the paper bags in that case. ;-)

But really, if we don't charge and we get caught, we're fined. If I don't charge and my manager finds out, I'm in the brown stuff.

Maybe it could be our little secret Callum

IA said:

It should be 20p minimum to change behaviour.

"Reasonable costs" that can be recovered by businesses from the plastic bag charge include the cost of training staff for the introduction of the charge. What sort of training do you need for "there's now a charge - every other shop has it too"? Are they planning away days?

Except 5p has had significant effects in Scotland and Wales.
90% reduction in Asda plastic bag use in Scotland, 80% reduction in Morrisons within 6 months of charges starting, for example.

Just under 10p a bag in China with a MUCH lower cost of living / average salary.

I'm lucky to have a short drive to work on rural roads but the rubbish along that route is getting worse and worse.

Yesterday morning I passed fly tipped black sacks in a passing place quite near to where I live. Along the route the verges had been cut the previous day and this revealed a huge amount of rubbish. A road-side nature reserve in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which in the Summer was a mass of wild flowers was strewn with plastic bags, cans & bottles. I passed more black sacks dumped in passing places and when I got to work some scumbag had fly tipped a load of building waste on the verge opposite my employer's car park.

I'm in my late 50's and when I was young I never saw rubbish like this. I wonder why so many people these days think it acceptable to litter the countryside. It costs tax payers millions of pounds to clear up this rubbish, why can't people take their litter home and dispose of it correctly? The authorities need the will to take action against this anti social behaviour rather than accepting it and paying the costs of the clean-up.

Plastic bag charges should be much higher and the fines for littering greatly increased, perhaps this would make people think about their actions.

Stu_of_Kunming said:

Just under 10p a bag in China with a MUCH lower cost of living / average salary.

Probably because they would rather export that plastic elsewhere. I don't quite see the Chinese as environmentalists.

iaitch said:

I agree it drives me mad that people can't hang onto their rubbish until they find a bin or take it home. Although saying that most bins in Beckenham are full of peoples household rubbish, why can't they put in their dustbin and wait for the bin men?

Maybe they should get some of these people doing community service to clear it up.

That is an excellent idea.