British Expatriate Network

to how we used to sell/buy our groceries?

http//observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2110112,00.html

An article in the guardian talks about milk and how Waitrose are going to try milk in a pouch to help with the environment and the use of plastic. But reading the article made me ask "do we need to go back to how we used to shop?".

I know there would be a lot of problems regarding health and safety, but before plastic was used how did our parents and grandparents shop? Could it be done now? And would it really help the environment? By changing over to the pouch for milk, will it really make a big enough difference to the environment.

The article mentions how Canada uses the pouch so it would be interesting to hear from those living there if they like it.

What would you be happy to change regarding your shopping if it meant helping the environment?

How about going back to having a milkman? IMO the milk tasted a heck of a lot better, especially the layer of cream on top... D

before plastic bags became the rage, people used to have their own shopping bags and the shop used brown paper bags if you did not have your own bags with you.
Plastic bags gained favour because it was sold as being enviromently friendly because you were not chopping down trees for paper bags lol

I take a string bag and a very large woven market basket when I go to the grocery store. I ask the checker not to use the paper or plastic bags and to put the groceries straight into my own bags. Many of the young girls say, "Oh it won't all fit in there!" and I watch their faces when they find out that they are wrong.
If I am in a store where we pack our own groceries, then it is no problem.

I do wish that more fluids came in glass containers, because when plastic warms, it leaches the petro-chemicals it is made from into the water/milk/pop or whatever it contains. Not very healthy at all. Especially when I buy spring water because it is supposed to be pure!

Never seen them here but then I'm not that observant when it comes to food shopping. I'll have a look next I'm in the supermarket.

Can't remember when we changed to pouches, must be at least 20 years. There are 3 pouches in each bag totaling 4Ltr. At the moment we pay $5 for 2%.
They are much more convenient to use and I miss them when we spend our winter months in San Diego.

Just banning plastic carrier bags would be a start.. not to mention those irritating plastic bags that you're sposed to put your fruit and veg in. Some places are good about having plastic bag recycling points, but how many bags do you see in a week blowing around the place? We even reuse our coffee bags in the grocery, they last for ages.
Milk from the milkman was good, the containers were constantly reused rather than recycled and you knew that the contents were pretty fresh and usually pretty local too.. now, crikey knows where the stuff comes from!
We use four large cloth bags that confuse the kids in the grocery store cos they put like two or three things in each bag and then start using plakky bags so you have to repack the cloth ones in front of them.
like the sound of milk pouches though.. No matter how hard they try, the US is still very much a throwaway culture. roll