Why should I?

By the end of a typical shopping trip, you're probably going to end up with several plastic carrier bags – perhaps a lot more than you need. Getting one every single time we purchase an item or three does means you've got a lot more plastic bags piling up then you'll ever need – on average, every person uses 130 carrier bags per year. For most, the simplest option would be to dispose of the bags, which can lead to serious environmental consequences. Those which end up out to sea kills up to 1,000,000 marine creatures a year. Most of them are also non-biodegradable meaning that ugly carrier bag is not going to just rot away.

What do I have to do?

Even if you've already accumulated your own weight in plastic bags it's never too late to grow out of old habits. One thing you could do is recycle them – some supermarket branches (such as Sainsbury's and Tesco) now offer a plastic bag recycling service. Re-using them is always an option, yet carrying about 10 plastic bags on a shopping trip seems rather futile. Instead you should really invest in something more appropriate.

Preparation

There are lots of alternative ways to carry your shopping. Why not carry a backpack or a large messenger bag? Or there are tote bags – they're fashionable with a literally hundreds of shops stocking them and practical as they can carry about three plastic bags worth of shopping. If you are anticipating you'll be buying large or bulky items, a 'bag for life' from somewhere like Ikea.

Action

Most shop assistants will ask if you need a carrier bag but if they don't it's very easy to say you don't need one!

Rinse and repeat

Be consistent! It may take a bit of getting used to not always getting free carrier bags but it really does do wonders for the environment. And isn't just so much nicer carrying your shopping in a trendy bag then something with supermarket branding on it?