Reduce

All supermarkets now have ‘bag for life’ schemes. You buy one large, tough carrier bag for 10p which should last about 10 trips. When it wears out the cashier will replace it for free and the old one will be sent for recycling. Alternatively, you can purchase cotton bags which are even more long lasting and they can biodegrade.

Reuse

Remember to take them shopping again and reuse your bags. Alternatively, you can use them as a small bin liner or donate them to local charities who are usually happy to receive them.

Recycle

You can often find plastic bag recycling facilities in local supermarkets. Check with yours to see what they offer. Certain plastic products can be recycled through some local authority programs, however WRWA like many other authorities/businesses can only recycle items that there is a recycling outlet/market for and currently we have no outlet for the type of plastic material most often used for packaging and carrier bags, etc. Plastic Carrier Bags cannot therefore be put in your clear recycling sacks, green bins or communal recycling banks, they are disposed of as black bag waste.