Should we be more worried about plastic than global warming?

[Capetonian]

I point blank refuse to use those self-service checkouts. There have been times when I've dumped my purchases and walked out if there was no human teller available or if the queues were too long. I make a point of telling someone what I am doing and why. They are an invention of the devil.

[Rwy in Sight]

Cape, I don't want to use because they destroy jobs for people who at least on the two supermarket closer to my place, they are very nice and two of the plump ladies are good to look at.

[ExSp33db1rd]

...I always intentionally f&$k it up......

I don't usually do it intentionally, but it always seems to happen !

and I agree with the comment - 8 lanes and only 2 open. Seems to be Standard Operating Procedure. At Banks too.

We have an added irritation, PayWave on the card reader, so if not careful the money is debited to the wrong account of my choice just by accidentally putting the card near the machine whilst selecting it from the wallet, so to avoid having to crouch on the floor and attack the reading machine from below, I keep my card in an aluminium foil envelope in my wallet, and cover the front of the machine with my wallet before letting the card get anywhere in range, and that usually works ! Such Fun, but should Life be this hard ?

[flynverted]

I point blank refuse to use those self-service checkouts. There have been times when I've dumped my purchases and walked out if there was no human teller available or if the queues were too long. I make a point of telling someone what I am doing and why. They are an invention of the devil.

I concur. As far as I'm concerned, if I use the self checkout, then I become an unpaid employee of that store. And that ain't happening! I refuse to use them and I've left items when the only checkout option was self checkout. I don't work there, it's not my responsibility to ring up items, bag them, and accept payment! They ring my sh!t up, take my payment, and bag my sh!t, or i go somewhere else.
**** 'em. I don't work for them and I'm not doing their job for no pay!!!

[ExSp33db1rd]

Remember when your Mum - at least mine - gave you a one pound note, a written note of goods to buy, and a hessian type large bag. Went to the "Grocer" and gave the written note to a man in a white coat who then ran around like a one armed paperhanger filling the bag with the requisite goods as you watched, then you gave him the pound note and got half-a-crown change, and .... walked home.

We now enjoy "progress".

I'm not intelligent enough to use a Supermarket, can't work out where the stuff I want is from the overhead signs, why isn't Toilet Paper, Kitchen Rolls and boxes of Kleenex all "paper goods" ? Why do I have to try Bathroom supplies, Personal Hygiene, Picnic supplies, and others to find what I want ? Indigestion tablets aren't even in Medicinal Supplies in our supermarket.

and of course Bread and Milk, which is all I usually want, is a long hike away at the back of the store - yes, I do know the answer to that.

Chocolate is of course alongside the till, on handy, grabbable, shelves.

It's a conspiracy.

Although "one-time-use" plastic bags are to be banned here, I've seen no reference to the many rolls of large plastic bags on easy-tear dispensers around the vegetable stands ? They will fit our kitchen / bathroom waste bins easily.

[om15]

I've got an idea, if everyone had one of these re-useable devices suddenly there would not be a problem.

untitled.png (93.88 KiB) Viewed 455 times

[Alisoncc]

Remember when your Mum - at least mine - gave you a one pound note,

I remember those days well. Mum would give us a half a crown. We would get a dozen eggs, pound of sugar, two pints of milk and a loaf of bread, and return home with the half a crown intact. They've got CCTV cameras everywhere nowadays. You've got no chance.

Alison

[Slasher]

missus om was pleased to have all supermarket items put in brown paper bags, quite big ones, these were useful for other purposes when the shopping was put away.

Couple of markets and take away joints here in the Gulf have the same large brown paper bags - with handles - which makes them perfect for other uses incl as carry-out trashbags.

[BenThere]

In my household we've come to use the thin plastic bags we get from shopping at Kroger as trash bags at home, so they do get a second life. I'm all in favor that these bags be made of biodegradable material, just like cigarette butts, which feed cellulose to the grasses of the earth so they can continue to sink and consume carbon.

[Mrs Ex-Ascot]

The points raised in this report about the UK recycling more plastic sound very sensible to me, however, what are the chances of any of it ever happening?

From the Guardian; https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... port-finds

[John Hill]

We pack our household rubbish in plastic bags and put them out at the kerb for collection. A truck comes along and empties the bin and takes our nicely packed trash to a yard where it is all compacted and loaded in to a larger truck. The town crap, 40 tons at a time, is then driven away to a landfill where it is further compressed.

In the fullness of time the landfill will be topped off with hard course and soil and left to settle, a decade or so later houses will be built on the land and families will live there for one,two or more centuries.

There will not be much left of those plastic bags when the machines arrive to dig up an process the landfill for mineral extraction.

[Magnus]

JH, we get assorted uplifts of stuff; glass, recyclable (doesn't include glass, oddly), landfill, compostable, food waste. We used to buy biodegradable bags for the food waste (fair enough), but now we've been told to use old plastic bags. ???

[Woody]

Well it’s a move in the right direction

McDonald's will replace plastic straws with paper ones in all its UK and Ireland restaurants, starting from September.
It is the latest company to opt out of some single-use plastic products which can take hundreds of years to decompose if not recycled.
The restaurant chain uses 1.8 million straws a day in the UK.
"Reflecting the broader public debate, our customers told us they wanted to see a move on straws," the firm said.
This decision follows a successful trial in selected restaurants earlier this year. The move to paper straws will be completed next year.

[ExSp33db1rd]

large brown paper bags - with handles - which makes them perfect for other uses incl as carry-out trashbags.

I never seem to get those home without the handles tearing off, maybe I stuff them too full ?

[Slasher]

The brown paper bags here are always full (no one shops around lightly) which means the handles and bags themselves have to be pretty bloody durable. I use 'em as rubbish bags after I get home but they could be used as a carry for anything else.

My supermarket has such bags but a lot don't. However almost all take away food joints use these types of bags. TS would approve!

[Magnus]

I have stopped using a good local Chinese takeaway, as they've decided to exploit the Scottish Governments plastic bag charge (supposed to be 5p). They're charging 10p, claim the bags are compulsory (eh?) and won't let customers use their own bags for Elfin Safety reasons (double eh?). Robbin bastids.

[Capetonian]

Typical Chinese. They'll always see an angle to squeeze the last penny. Arrogant pricks too. They hate credit cards, I've had a few run ins with Chink restaurants over that, always pretend : "cledit cad machine bloken" or some crap.

One place in CPT I ordered a lot of takeaway for a party, went to pay, this was years ago, and she says : "No cledit card", but they had credit card signs etc, so when I argued she said "No cledit cad for more than R100".
That was when R100 was a lot of money (my rent was R100/month!), and she explained : "More money I take on cledit cad more money I am losing."
I walked off and told her to sell the food to someone else, she ran after me with the food, and then tried to add 10% for paying with CC.

Another time in Spain they refused to take CC because we were a party of 6 people (wtf?) and it ended in an argument with them threatening to call police because I refused to pay cash, I told them by all means call the police, and this guy came out of the kitchen doing a war dance round the table with a meat cleaver in his hand and swearing at us in Cantonese or whatever.

I rarely eat in Chinese restaurants because they are so unpleasant, and I've avoided going to China for the same reason.

[Slasher]

Typical Chinese. They'll always see an angle to squeeze the last penny. Arrogant pricks too. They hate credit cards, I've had a few run ins with Chink restaurants over that, always pretend : "cledit cad machine bloken" or some crap.

China is a game Cape, and the Chinks equally so. One has to argue so that you get something back in return for extra costs, and use tactics such as walking straight out of the shop without warning.

I always deal in straight cash there as it makes life so much easier, but if I need to pay by CC with a fee then I'll ask for something in return that won't cost 'em - that coaster perhaps, maybe that nice cup?

Worst comes to worst bone up on Feng Shui. If you run into a brick wall yell "You have bad Feng Shui! Look at eaves! They are poison arrows! No pa-qua?!! Look where you put mirror! Your shop have so much sha chi everywhere! I pay now but never come back and I tell all Chinee friends also!" and look mad doing it.

No astute Chinaman wants his business derailed by FS faults - it'll spread like wildfire among his competitors. You will probably find they'll be more approachable after that.

[BenThere]

Funny, my local Chinese restaurants (Michigan) are exemplars of politeness and service. They are almost always family businesses, and the employees are sons, daughters and cousins. Never a problem with credit cards.

What have been your experiences with Sushi joints?

[Slasher]

Who are you addressing Ben?