UKC

So we've now got millions of Tesco "for life" bags from home deliveries and click & collect - what are we meant to do with them?

It's got to the point where I really think that our supply will last our lifetimes (we're 60&59).

Obviously I'm going to get some witty replies (I know the level of talent on UKC) but this is actually a serious question. Can't give them back (at the moment), will Tesco be able to reuse them once Coronavirus is "over".

Food banks may find them useful.  

Start Up Stirling, my local food bank provider, has appealed for "for life" bags to be left at donation trolleys at local supermarkets. Might be a similar scheme in your local area. Your local foodbank might have a website.

The supermarkets will take these back (at least in normal times) but I suspect they will be recycled rather than reused.

Donating to food banks for reusing would be better imo. Can you ask for a bag free delivery with the order? 

Charity shops are usually very grateful for bags

No bag free delivery just now due to the virus. Not sure if it's to speed up delivery or to reduce infection.  

I know you didn't ask for this, but it is so timely I'll share my suggestion anyway. This morning, in the first rain since lockdown, my kids spent 2 hours sliding around on the trampoline dressed up in For Life bags with a cup of laundry liquid poured over the trampoline to make it extra slippery

Washing machine broken?

Nice 😁

Unfortunately, 1. we don't have a trampoline, & 2. Only one of our kids is at home at the moment, and he's 34 (and working from home).

I will however suggest this to my other child, who has a trampoline, along with two suitably aged kids of her own (and her husband).

Bin bags?  For putting your mucky hiking boots in?

Both.

Makes sense.  

Yep, Tesco’s don’t deliver past the front door now so it saves standing outside and have people fishing around the crates packing their own bags in the wind, rain and dark.
 

The real thing I want to know is how do you handle your general rubbish that goes from the kitchen to the black Wheely bin? Our bags usually perform that job but I feel bad every time so what's your alternative if you aren't using shopping bags?!?

It’s both basically. As a delivery driver visiting up to 22 homes a shift I don’t want to touch peoples shopping if I don’t have to. Also think of the time it would take someone to empty say 10 trays of shopping if it wasn’t bagged, we only have a few minutes doorstep time and that wouldn’t be enough. 

Reason for the short doorstep time - finite set of vans, finite number of drivers, massive increase in number of customers and amounts they are buying, we physically cannot get the shopping onto the vans fast enough.  Before lockdown I would take out a full van for up to 22 customers in a 7 hour run. I now do two runs in the same time frame. I can easily load and unload over 1300kgs of shopping a shift. 

Never used one as a bin bag. Given that they are 10p each that would be madness.

To date I have run down the stocks of single use bags that I collected back when they were still being used (down to the last few now) but most of the rubbish that needs bagging gets put into packaging/bags that I recover from other food/shopping. If at any point I feel the need for more bags to meet this purpose I would buy a roll of small bin bags.

Stuff that's not being recycled goes in the kitchen bin in "proper" bin bags. Most of our single use bags go to my parents because they fit their kitchen bin.

The plastic in for life bags is far too "good" to just throw away as rubbish containers.

Take one on your daily walk and fill it with litter. That's what we do with our tatty ones.

The virus lives for around 72 hours on plastic.  Lovely idea but right now not the best idea to touch other people's litter.  

Lots of plastic blue gloves around

You and your colleagues are much appreciated.  

Make coffins out of them

Has anyone ever a) worn one out and b) returned it to the shop for replacement as promised? 

I was going to say that you're contractually obliged to arrange to have them returned on your death.  

I thought they might bring you back from the dead, if you made a coffin out of them, a bit like Pet Cemetery.

I did but it didn't really go with my shoes and my mates ridiculed me

Yep. Asda just scan the barcode and swap it for a new one. 

and Waitrose. They just gave me a new one and told me to put the dead one in the carrier bag recycling bin on the way out.

Yes. It's why they are 'bags for life'. (M&S, Tesco others still not worn out so not tried all)

Or are you asking if anyone can be bothered. It seems to imply you haven't.

Struggling to wear one out to be honest other than by misuse which generally leaves them too filthy to imagine taking them back. 

As for returning them, it is challenging enough remembering to take one to the shops let alone remembering to return a worn out one.

That either makes me a dreadful person, or just honest depending on how tall your horse is. 

Those two things are actually the same.  Once you manage to get into the habit of taking your bags to the shop, you'll have the worn out one with you when you're in the shop.

I kind of see what you mean. I had an M&S that was worn out but hardly ever go in there, so was having to keep a bag that needed changing with me for months. I realised I could keep it usable by applying duct tape (although this made it a bit too bulky for convenience) eventuallly did replace it and the check out person made a comment about how old the design of the bag was. Not sure how much/if duct tape negates the environmental benefit of keeping going with the bag.

Perhaps you don't mind spending 10p a bag or don't go that often? I mean, I use 5 or more every shop. paying 50-60p surcharge on 30 - 40 shops a year would pee me off.

Found this quite a good read then at the end I started to realise I was reading an in-depth conversation about bags for life. Crikey, times are weird.