I AM NOT A CRIMINAL

English: Logo of Waitrose. Source: Waitrose Small Producers’ Charter. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

To the checkout lady in Waitrose who just snapped at me “do you need bags?!” and subsequently, and with great theatre, threw said carrier bags in my direction – I am not a criminal. I am merely a man with groceries who requires a means by which to transport them from the trolley via my car to my kitchen. I am not an eco-terrorist. I am not solely responsible for global warming. I am not intent on killing the planet or condemning your grandchildren to a life as colonists on planet Mars.

So, less of the attitude, lady!

In any case, your bags are recyclable. And, I would be happy if you provided me with an ethical alternative, be it a recycled paper bag, a cardboard box, or a hemp sack. But it is either your plastic bag or my groceries rolling about in the boot of the car.

And, don’t even start with the Bag for Life thing – I could insulate my house with the number of Bags for Life that I have acquired over the years. Now there is an environmental disaster waiting to happen. And no, I cannot remember to bring them with me when I go shopping.

If you want to have a go at anyone have a go at the people who insist on putting two blue rubber bands around your salad onions. Or, rebuke the manufacturers of electrical goods who insist on little plastic ties around every cable. And, the dry cleaners who return everything on plastic hangers – I have Bags for Life galore stuffed with yellow plastic coat hangers.

Rant over.

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• Four hundred million more plastic bags handed out in supermarkets last year (independent.co.uk)

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