Its in the Eco Bag

Well I am sure like the rest of you I was enthralled by the new budget !

How much more tax to we have to pay and being a small business the ramafications of it.

But as I sat slumped, yes slumped in the sofa, I know its bad for my posture but I was giving up the will to live when....Gordon Brown, yes our PM, talked about the tax on plastic bags and the environment. WOW ! my ears pricked up, I sat on the front of my seat, and waited with baited breath. Yes! finally something is being done about it. Last year I was so fed up with the numerous plastic bags on offer, the waste, and the pollution. I live in a wonderful country village in Lancashire near the Pennines, yet the rubbish of rotting plastic bags being windswept in the trees is awful.

Every morning I go for my morning walk usually at 6.30am through the forest 5 mins from my home with my loyal dog Woody. A golden Cocker spaniel. We, yes both of us pick up plastic bags, plastic bottles, plastic wrappers strewn without a care in the world in the forest. In fact Woody thinks its great fun to run with the plastic bottles in his mouth! The modern version of a stick I suppose. Every morning we bring the assortment home to recycle, so at least its out of the forest and wildlife.

Last year I had made some natural unbleached cotton bags which I sell on my website, oops to upload photos & info. But I and all my friends use them for shopping. Infact I recall that when I was a child, everything was in a brown paper bag or loose. My mum had an assortment of bags, cotton, string, leather, canvas, for shopping and you took a bag to go shopping.

Now I go to the market to buy vegetables I put them loose in my bag. If I happen to go into a supermarket I remove the plastic packaging at the check out, or buy them losse if possible wihtout a bag. It does drive the checkout girls dizzy as trying to balance 3lbs of loose carrots on the new shelf/radar/scanning machine is difficult, it saves waste.

In Germany there was revolt by the Haus frau of over packaging. All the house wives decided to remove packaging at the till point and leave it to the supermarkets to recycle. What a brill idea. Infact so powerful was the movement it made the supermarkets re thingk excess packaging.

Who needs plastic on courgettes? Melons? peppers? Potatoes? they already have their own skin.

So thats my rant for today

Take a bag to go shopping and re use it, remove excess plastic at the till point and leave it to the supermarkets to recycle.

Lets start the revolution !

Have a great Easter
Gillian