Online supermarket shopping and bags in Canberra?

Skidbladnir said :

Source

6 What is a plastic shopping bag? In this Act:
plastic shopping bag— (a) means—
(i) a bag that is made (in whole or in part) of polyethylene with a thickness of less than 35 microns;

So long as the bags they are giving away are over 35 microns, it is perfectly legal. If they are under 35 microns they are illegal.

7 Retailer not to supply plastic shopping bags
(1) A retailer commits an offence if—
(a) the retailer supplies a plastic shopping bag to a customer of the retailer; and
(b) the plastic shopping bag is supplied for the customer to carry goods bought, or to be bought, from the retailer.

The act says the shop must not supply. It never mentions anything about charging or not for that supply. Otherwise he shops would just charge $0.00001 per bag and round down….

dtc said :

One of my regular Chinese take away shops is now charging for bags (10c or something). Despite the charge being bugger all of the total bill, it does annoy me. (although I actually dont care about the ban one way or the other usually).
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Yeah, but the Monkey Magic Chicken makes up for it doesn’t it?

I believe the big green bags at Woolies cost 15c? Could be 25c… But that’s what my order was packed in when I last ordered online but I wasn’t charged extra for it.

I once had a chat with one of the delivery drivers who told me that orders get easily mixed up if not everything is packed in bags. And in my experience that is true.

And the reason why they are so unevenly packed – 1 item in one bag and 5 in another – appears to be because they are packed per aisle. They must have some system for filling the orders that explains that.

But even if they did make me pay for the bags and used more bags than necessary, I still would find it worth it.

I’ve been getting my groceries online from Woolies for a while. Until fairly recently I was getting them in the thinner plastic bags. However, they seem to have run out of those and I’m now getting the thicker grey bags. They haven’t charged me for either sort.

One of my regular Chinese take away shops is now charging for bags (10c or something). Despite the charge being bugger all of the total bill, it does annoy me. (although I actually dont care about the ban one way or the other usually).

Woolies/Coles should re-design their checkouts so that the customers have to pick up their bags (after being filled). It would probably only require the section of the counter where the bag holder is to be cut out and the holder (the posts) turned around.

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p1 said :

That isn’t a crack in the bag ban, unless they are giving away the thin ones which are banned, in which case they are breaking the law.

Not quite.
If a shopkeeper gives away thin bags for use in their own store, then they break it.
(The law contains this provision, charging customers for bags is just a new revenue stream for shopkeepers, and customers let them do it)

p1 said :

shadow boxer said :

The first cracks in the bag ban are appearing, I went to two smaller supermarkets on the weekend who both had signs up saying they were going to use bags and absorb the cost.

That isn’t a crack in the bag ban, unless they are giving away the thin ones which are banned, in which case they are breaking the law. If these bags are the ones that meet the standard, then the ban is working perfectly.

A recent internet order from Woolies was delivered to my house in grey plastic bags. Very similar to the old ones in appearance, by they seem slightly thicker, so I assume they meet the new standard. There were not separately charged for, but there is a fee for delivery which I assume covers this cost.

Like Breda said they are giving away the thick ones, the turtles must be pleased.

dpm said :

I’m not 100% sure, but I think you get them for ‘free’. However, if you can afford the extra cost of (convenient) online shopping, even if you did have to pay for bags, the few cents for them would be the least of your money worries!

It’s only $7 delivery for Coles, Woolies is free if you spend over $250, the money I save by not needing therapy after going shopping will pay for that many times over…

My IGA provides heavy duty placcy bags at no extra charge, bless their little cotton socks. The bags are way over-engineered for what they have to do though, thanks to the stupid law – another win for the environment by the gormless leading the gutless.

p1 said :

shadow boxer said :

The first cracks in the bag ban are appearing, I went to two smaller supermarkets on the weekend who both had signs up saying they were going to use bags and absorb the cost.

That isn’t a crack in the bag ban, unless they are giving away the thin ones which are banned, in which case they are breaking the law. If these bags are the ones that meet the standard, then the ban is working perfectly.

A recent internet order from Woolies was delivered to my house in grey plastic bags. Very similar to the old ones in appearance, by they seem slightly thicker, so I assume they meet the new standard. There were not separately charged for, but there is a fee for delivery which I assume covers this cost.

It’s all a bit silly really isn’t it.

shadow boxer said :

The first cracks in the bag ban are appearing, I went to two smaller supermarkets on the weekend who both had signs up saying they were going to use bags and absorb the cost.

That isn’t a crack in the bag ban, unless they are giving away the thin ones which are banned, in which case they are breaking the law. If these bags are the ones that meet the standard, then the ban is working perfectly.

A recent internet order from Woolies was delivered to my house in grey plastic bags. Very similar to the old ones in appearance, by they seem slightly thicker, so I assume they meet the new standard. There were not separately charged for, but there is a fee for delivery which I assume covers this cost.

Gantz said :

The bags do not cost 50 cents. Don’t blow things out of proportion.

Wandered into go-lo at Weston recently. They had some good value tinned stuff so ended up with a basket full, so needed a bag. The ting cost me a dollar. I reckon we’re gettin touched a bit over these bag prices.

The first cracks in the bag ban are appearing, I went to two smaller supermarkets on the weekend who both had signs up saying they were going to use bags and absorb the cost.

Also had a bit of a chat with the girl at the checkout at woolies and they are falling like flies, all the different size bags (including big ones that are really heavy like those green ones) is killing their backs.

lemon delicious said :

Woolies usually bring groceries in big boxes and unload onto counter (and have done for a long time). Some items such as freezer items do come in plastic but they do not charge for them. Haven’t had a delivery in a couple of months, so may have changed.

I stand corrected – seems like they have changed.

I used to shop online at Woolies. Don’t any longer as I got fed up with the amount of bags that used to come with every order – used to get one item in a bag a lot of the time. I asked not to have bags and they said that wasn’t possible even though they carry your goods safely in their roomy bag, in a crate to your door. The first delivery guy we had used to take them back the following week and put them in the recycling bin. Others refused. I do recall that they did say they would be moving to bag free shopping however I would hazard a guess that this has not eventuated.

Woolies usually bring groceries in big boxes and unload onto counter (and have done for a long time). Some items such as freezer items do come in plastic but they do not charge for them. Haven’t had a delivery in a couple of months, so may have changed.

When you order from Coles it is based in the Queanbeyan store so you can still get plastic bags from NSW!

I shop online with Coles and there hasn’t been any extra charge for the bags

I’m not 100% sure, but I think you get them for ‘free’. However, if you can afford the extra cost of (convenient) online shopping, even if you did have to pay for bags, the few cents for them would be the least of your money worries!

The bags do not cost 50 cents. Don’t blow things out of proportion.