Now that we all have to pay for our plastic carriers bags, to help save the environment, well that is the excuse that is made by retailers and the one time great providers of free eco-friendly carrier bags, is it time that we got something in return for our hard earned cash that is value for money?

Yes I think so!

Well that answer to my question was a little obvious because I am writing this blog from that point of view! But I hope you see what I mean.

Still my point is that Tesco and all of the other supermarket bandits shouldn’t be allowed to sell carrier bags that don’t live up to what name suggests and sadly fall well below the expectations of even a Cat, when the contents that have been crammed into the aforementioned carrier bag disappear out of the bottom and land below even the eye level of this vertically challenged Pussy!

There is, if I am not mistaken a point of law that says (in civilised western countries at least) that something which is bought from a retailer or any old third party should be of merchantable quality, isn’t there?

So having said that, would you my dear cuddly readers suggest that the carrier bag below is of that particular quality? Of course you wouldn’t, would you?

It not only failed in its mission to transport a sizeable shipment of mouth watering Prawns. It also spread those contents plus some rather personal items, which I prefer not to name, across the shopping mall floor, a shattering experience for the bottle involved and a highly embarrassing one for this poor humiliated and as yet uncompensated Cat.

Something has to be done to ensure that when we buy a carrier bag we get something that will do what the name suggests doesn’t it?

I suggest that someone start a campaign with of course my full moral support and backing, so long as I don’t actually have to do any hard work for that campaign because I am currently in mourning for a bag of Prawns and couldn’t bring myself to chain my person to the doors of a branch of Tesco – hint hint!

You know I have a feeling that there is more to this carrier bag nonsense than merely a clever supermarket getting extra cash for something they used to give away for free don’t you?

So convinced was I that there was something more to this that I even searched in the wonderful organ of misinformation and confusion ‘Google’ after typing “what happens to the money collected from selling plastic carrier bag that were once given away” I got these answers.

1. – “Americans throw away 100 billion plastic bags every year” Yeah right always blame the poor Americans, but what has that got to do with my question? Nothing of course!

2. “Firms faces penalties of up to £5000 if they give away single use carrier bags.” That seems a bit strong doesn’t it – still it was the Welsh Government website so…

3. Why do charity shops charge 5p for a used carrier bag when they’re selling clothes for 5 pence and selling books for 50 pence each?” Why indeed?

So after all that research – well I couldn’t stand reading more than a page of the nonsense that a Google search throws up so I gave up without any answers, but I did get loads of adverts served up to me selling things I didn’t need, have you noticed that Google always vomits nonsense doesn’t it? You would think that at least one advert would have mentioned “shopping bag” but it didn’t!

So sadly I can’t tell you where the 5p collected goes, although I suspect it goes towards the profits of the retailer involved and don’t blame them the scheme has to be inforced because it is the law.

I did laugh at this quote from one government website.

“What is a single-use carrier bag?

A single-use carrier bag is a bag that is not designed for substantial reuse and are often given out with the aim of transporting your goods home for just one trip. These are most often plastic bags but can also include paper bags too.”

Now I don’t know about you but I use paper and plastic carrier bags more than once to carry my Prawns home from the shop in and after that I use them as bing bags for my kitchen bin, although I have a suspicion that I should buy bin bags and use them for shopping first because they are so much cheaper at 2p according to the Tescos website page here Tescos website – Bin Liners and pictured below.

It’s so true these days that high earning tax avoiders, The Tax Man, Politicians, Bankers, Multinationals and of course Supermarkets are all looking to take advantage of us.

As Leonard puts it in the Big Bang Theory when he trying to tell Dr. Sheldon Cooper that he has been compromised.

“Alright, well let me see if I can explain your situation using physics. What would you be if you were attached to another object by an incline plane wrapped helically around an axis?”

Dr. Sheldon Cooper: “Screwed?”

Leonard: “There you go.”

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About the Author

The Cat is one of the most successful feline authors in the history of Catkind. His sharp elegant wit has produced the bestselling book ‘Getting Out – Excerpts from a Cat’s Diary’ and of course the much plagiarised gag of the same name which appears on all of the funniest joke sites on the internet.

Copies of the Cat’s masterpiece of feline literature ‘Getting Out – Excerpts from a Cat’s Diary’ and his latest wonderful book ‘The Cat’s Travelogue’ can be purchased at a bookstore near you or from the internet at Amazon.com and here for the Travelogue The Cat’s Travelogue Paperback Edition or at what The Cat calls his www – wickedly wonderful website here www.thecatsdiary.com where you can not only learn more about me the genius Cat but also play my games they are all paw picked by me and have been described as “exactly what free on-line games should be, fun, free and fantastic.”

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