I have just read Nicola Patrick's "Alternatives to plastic bags" article, Chronicle, August 20, and to a large extent I find myself agreeing with what she is saying.
I am personally in favour of the banning of single-use plastic bags by the major supermarkets, and have accumulated a number of reusable bags, which I try hard to remember every time I shop. I do, however, wonder if the major supermarket chains are paying lip service, given that virtually everything we buy there, save for fruit and vegetables, and some deli items, is encased in plastic of some description.
An awful lot of the residents of our great town, myself included, still put our rubbish out in plastic bags designed for the purpose, because, in my case, it is a whole lot cheaper than the cost of a bin. The only alternative here.
I recycle as much as I can, and use the purpose-built centre here when I have accumulated enough to make the trip worthwhile, as indeed a lot of others do. I am old enough to remember paper rubbish bags, glass milk bottles, and bread wrapped in paper, and have more than once contemplated an entirely plastic-free world. Virtually everything we use in our everyday lives either comes in plastic or is either made from, or has a high plastic component within it, which makes a plastic-free world virtually impossible.
What is possible, however, is what we do with the high amount of waste associated with plastic, which, I believe is down to the manufacturers, who could and should switch to making products that can be recycled, but also to you and I, the consumers, who need to be more vigilant with how we dispose of what is an integral part of modern life.
