Action #001

Decline plastic bags wherever possible.


 
This action has been done 124,810 times which means there's at least 6,240,500 cm3 less plastic in landfills.
 
How we did the maths
 

Every person in the country uses an average of 167 plastic bags every year. That's 10 billion bags all together. A plastic bag can take up to 500 years to decay in landfill. There is an alternative. It's called a shopping bag, and apparently in France, it's very chic.

  • Recently Posted

  • Buckler, Picton & Buckler-Picton and friends did this action and got 1 people to do it too

    Bag lady!

    I have two Onya bags and try to have at least one with me whenever I go shopping.
    http://www.onyabags.co.uk/
    BTW The Royal College of Nursing also uses re-usable bags at it conferences and i have several of those that I use for work. [Can't take the credit for getting them to do that tho'!]     17 July 2010, 12:13
  • Julie Guiver Julie Guiver and friends did this action and got 52 people to do it too

    Morsbags

    At school we are making Morsbags - shopping bags made from old curtains, duvet covers etc. Every Morsbag made means 500 plastic carrier bags are not needed.
    Find out more & how to set up your own pod - http://www.morsbags.com/     16 June 2010, 19:22
  • Iris Verschaeve Iris Verschaeve and friends did this action and got 1 people to do it too

    Plastic bags? No thank you!

    In Belgium, where I come from, plastic bags are almost banned from supermarkets and public life. Re-usable bags are everywhere, supermarkets have their own. Ofcourse you can question the 'ethic' side of these bags...
    Some of them have fabric fair trade bags. I bought one last year and I'm still using it to shop! Now, here in Spain, especially in the South where I live, people use a lot of plastic bags. Re-usable bags are not really 'hot' here.
    People give me funny looks when I ask them NOT to give me a plastic bag (especially when they tell me it's for free and I still say no) but they always put my stuf in my reusable bag. Sometimes I even get positive comments about it!

    So I hope that people do it more!     13 May 2010, 12:34
  • muthir alhadhrami muthir alhadhrami did this action

    save plastic bags

    i am sad about this its a big problem and we must help about plastic bags :( 01 May 2010, 11:35
  • emma emma did this action

    Plastic Bags

    I love doing this action whenever I go into town to shop. I use a plain white canvas bag that I really love. I am glad that I am helping the environment while using my favourite bag!!!:))



    Try it!!     26 March 2010, 16:55
  • Paul Brannigan Paul Brannigan and friends did this action and got 2 people to do it too

    Culture change

    I declined plastic bags four times today when I was buying mother's day presents. Each time I did the person at the till gave me a funny look, as if they'd never seen such a thing before. Part of people's reluctance to decline plastic bags is due to British politeness: id est, people don't like saying no. 14 March 2010, 15:09
  • Soluus Soluus did this action

    I use as little as possible

    Whenever I buy something, I always try to put it in my college back so I don't end up with loads of bags and so my hands are free when walking around. If I do get a plastic bag for a large item - which is understandable - I always put smaller purchases in the same bag. Then, I take the bag home and reuse it time after time. 13 March 2010, 12:51
  • Samiriah Samiriah Shaikh and friends did this action and got 1 people to do it too

    Plsatic Bags

    In tesco's i declined the plastics bags 25 February 2010, 15:13
  • brad horsman brad horsman and friends did this action and got 5 people to do it too

    plastic bags

    to do this action everytime my mum goes shopping i make sure she takes reusable bags with her and makes sure she uses them>>>>>>. 03 February 2010, 20:26
  • KT KT did this action

    reusable grocery bags

    I've got a whole bunch of them now and I haven't used plastic bags in ages. I take my own containers to the bulk store and since I recycle or compost almost everything I rarely need plastic bags anyways and I tend to use the bags from products that I do still have to get in packaging (cereal) 02 February 2010, 02:15
  • hellen tinu matesun did this action

    My presentation at Woodgrange primary school

    I did a presentation at Woodgrange primary school with Deborah, we talked to the little kids and told them the damage of plastic bags getting them to join us in declining plastic bags. 29 January 2010, 00:35
  • jeff jeff did this action

    =D

    I work at CVS and we have this program called "green bag tags" in which we reward customers who decline plastic bags. 24 January 2010, 17:26
  • spanner spanner did this action

    i love to save the earth

    my family and i never use plastic or paper bags. at school we allways recycle our plastic bags 14 December 2009, 09:41
  • Jenni Jenni and friends did this action and got 1 people to do it too

    Shopping!!!

    We always take a bag when we do our weekly shop, and always have...
    I think.     05 December 2009, 12:37
  • Karunyah Nadarajah and friends did this action and got 1 people to do it too

    Rejected a bag :)

    Yesterday, when I bought a pieces of jewellery, I was offered a bag to put them in but I refused and put it in my handbag :) 15 November 2009, 16:12
  • Mr Collins Mr Collins did this action

    Impressed an old lady too!

    I always try to take my bags for life when I go to the supermarket but often forget. I went into Wimbledon on Saturday to get some shopping and once I had packed, the old lady behind me praised me on my packing skills. Who'd of thought that just recycling bags would feel so good! 09 November 2009, 18:34
  • Miss Wasley Miss Wasley and friends did this action and got 1 people to do it too

    Green, green, green

    I always do this now. It makes me feel like I am doing my bit, plus, the bags for life that you can buy are much better. They can fit a lot more shopping in - great! and you can use them for lots of things e.g. I bought a canvas bag from Primark last time I went and I used it today to fit all of my gym stuff in! 28 October 2009, 13:52
  • Aliyah Debbonaire Aliyah Debbonaire did this action

    Refuse Plastic Bags

    As everyone probably knows, many shops now offer more sustainable bags for purchase so you can reuse them and not have to use plastic bags. In our house, we have loads of them in random places, so it's routine to grab one before going out. I would suggest, if you've bought one to put one somewhere you pass before leaving the house, that way if you think you might be shopping, you can grab it. 27 October 2009, 11:11
  • Sharon Sharon did this action

    Letting go of plastic

    Always take a hessian bag or a my good old trolley car shopping with me. 01 October 2009, 15:36
  • Aliine Aliine did this action

    No plastic bag please (smile)

    Yup. That's how I do it. Every day. 01 October 2009, 15:34
  • aidan farmer aidan farmer did this action

    stuip question

    i was on gloster r.d birstol in somefield and got asked if i wanted a bag even thought i had one on me (not plastic) and i said no 17 September 2009, 19:13
  • Nick Stanhope Nick Stanhope did this action

    Sainsburys staff...

    ....are really good at asking if you want a bag. Makes you want to say no. 16 September 2009, 14:33
  • Lauren Cooper Lauren Cooper and friends did this action and got 1 people to do it too

    plastic aint my bag - paper is =]

    i went shopping with my boyfriend today and made him use the carrier bags he'd already been given instead of getting one at every shop =]
    they were also paper bags and not plastic!     08 September 2009, 18:25
  • Esther Cooper - Gittins Esther Cooper - Gittins did this action

    Plastic ain't my bag :)

    Thanks to my lovely bag I got at the young speakers course, I don't really use plastic bags these days :) 03 September 2009, 11:30
  • Emma Whitehead did this action

    Plastic Ain't my Bag

    Since having my Plastic Ain't my Bag bag, I don't think I've had a single plastic bag! 01 September 2009, 15:21
  • Michelle Weller Michelle Weller did this action

    Michelle

    I have started to carry a bag everywhere so I can always decline a bag! 17 August 2009, 11:54
  • Michael Daley Michael Daley and friends did this action and got 1 people to do it too

    If you must... recycle em

    Ok, I admit I don't always think of bringing a bag with me. I usually manage to carry home the spontaneous ice cream with frozen hands. But 5 tubs is a bit much and I have to ask for a bag. Consequently I get a little ball of bags stuck under my kitchen sink.

    I found that I can recycle them at my local Sainsbury's though. Not as good as not taking them in the first place - but better than nothing.     11 July 2009, 07:58
  • Anthony Cross Anthony Cross and friends did this action and got 4 people to do it too

    tesco

    used the bag i already had that WASNT plastic 09 July 2009, 20:47
  • Jennifer Parker Jennie Parker and friends did this action and got 1 people to do it too

    No thanks

    I've been quite conscious of using plastic bags since joining We Are What We Do, and I've actually been using my "Plastic ain't my bag" bag from the training to put all my stuff into whenever I can. I'm also hassling my mum at regular intervals to do the same :) 09 July 2009, 20:19
  • Ella Wiggans did this action

    --

    I take my Plastic Ain't My Bag with me everywhere and challenge myself to never accept a plastic bag wherever I shop. 06 July 2009, 13:56
  • rosie thackray rosie thackray and friends did this action and got 1 people to do it too

    i say no to plastic

    i take my bag from we are what we do and use it when i go to the shops!! i even use it for my pack lunch at work :) 04 July 2009, 20:38
  • Emma Davies Emma Davies did this action

    --

    When i go shopping i take my own bag and put things i buy in it instead of getting a plastic bag 04 July 2009, 17:20

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