Going Green Blog

Entry #2: Plastic Bags

Walking into town recently I began to notice that most people coming away from town were carrying shopping and had at least 2 plastic carrier bags.

Now I don't know for certain whether they were being re-used but I was fairly sure most were not but had been given out by the shop that they purchased their goods from. Even the bags I saw seemed too many. We go into shops and are offerd bags for everything we buy - sometimes automatically.

Although more now we are being asked whether we want we want a bag before it is given and have an opportunity to say 'No thank you'.

Recently I always take a large cloth bag and inside keep a couple of other bags folded up so I have something to put any purchases in. It is actually so easy when you get into the habit. And it feels really good too that it is another step towards being greener - and I really have a long way to go which is why I am trying someting new every week.So please buy a cloth bag today - or at least take your used plastic bags and re-use them - and please stop accepting new plastic bags - you will be amazed at how easy this is to do. Let your friends know you are doing this too.

Meanwhile please sign our petition online at www.green-england.co.uk/plasticbagpetition for a 10p tax on plastic bags. This is a tax with a difference - if it hardly raised any cash it would be a success as it would mean people would have stopped using plastic bags!

When I went into town this week I bought some Borax and some Bicarbonate of Soda for cleaning. Both cost 89p and I believe they will cover most of my cleaning needs. I need to read up a bit more so I will tell you how I got on in my next blog. If these are products you already use, please get in touch as I would appreciate some tips and hints.

I am still using the soap nuts and am now a complete convert and will never use washing powder again.

Please let me know your experiences and tips for a greener lifestyle.