Today is UK Plastic Bag Free Day!
Well, here's the answer received yesterday from Tesco Customer Service Centre, Baird Avenue, Dundee DD2 3TN (Ref. 9352035/KS):
"Thank you for contacting us with your enquiry about free carrier bags from our Oban store.
"From looking at our data our store at Oban has reduced the number of carrier bags by a total of 3.5 million since our May 2006 base line – and 1.88m year to date for this financial year.
"We haven't been told or involved in the UK plastic bag free day, so unfortunately it won't be supported by Tesco.
"We have recently changed all our carrier bags from degradable to biodegradable.
"What this means in essence is that we have introduced a different additive into the structure of the bag that will degrade the plastic pretty rapidly – it will become unusable after a year or so. This additive will also degrade the plastic bag down into smaller particles than before.
"This is a two stage process. The plastic degrades over a period of three years into very small particles, which are then ingested by the microbes in the land fill which further degrade the products into their constituent parts; this is biodegradation.
"When the bags were only degradable then they did not degrade down into small enough particles for this microbial action to take place. The carbon chains were just too long. With the new additive the microbial action can now take place, hence the bags are now biodegradable."
"Thanks for taking time to contact us. I hope this information has been helpful.
"Yours sincerely
[signed L Graham]
"For and on behalf of Tesco Stores Ltd
"Lynsey Graham
"Customer Service Manager"
While Tesco's answer is appreciated, please note that their letter does not state the number of free biodegradable plastic bags they still hand out at their Oban store alone. It must be huge if they've managed to reduce the number by almost 2 million bags in this financial year alone! The mind boggles at the number of free bags taken home (and thrown into landfill) by each resident of and visitor to the Oban area.
Please leave your comments on this post.
Yours truly is now off to find out what can be done with SPE (plastic) punnets from the berries and soft fruit we like to eat at this time of year. Over only the past six weeks, an impressive stack of them has accumulated in this one-person household. How do you deal with them?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and I'll keep you posted.
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