the plastic is devastating to wildlife
but its okay if you pay 5p for a bag
Careless disposal of plastic bags is devastating to wildlife. Reuse and recycling minimise the effect on wildlife.
Charging 5p can reduce wanton wastefulness and introduce some thought into the purchasing process.
I am still trying to work out the practicalities of receiving my groceries without bags without delaying the delivery driver, inconveniencing partner or damaging some fragile items.
Bags are currently returned for recycling if not used as bin liners/laundry bags/pannier liners etc.
We minimise our plastic waste as much as we can.
Similarly, I only acquire plastic bags when doing a Big Horriblemarket (or random shop) shop. Most of our day to day shopping is at Aldi, and I re-use Horriblemarket bags to simplify handling and prevent leaks in hard-to-clean panniers. They go into the plastic bags bag for re-use, ending the cycle when either get given to someone who needs a thing wrapped in a plastic bag, they fall apart, or get used as bin liners.
The difference in shopping habits I notice most at Aldi, compared to the other supermarkets, is that disorganised shoppers will go to much greater lengths to carry their shopping with a minimum of 5p bags. Organised shoppers bring their own durable or re-used bags. The other thing is that the staff aren't foisting extra bags on you by doing your packing for you, as they tend to in smaller supermarkets when a queue forms.
I expect this will mean a few less bags flapping about in hedges, which can only be a good thing.
I'm not sure about paper bags... the ones without handles are probably more wildlife-friendly, but I doubt the total environmental cost is clear-cut when you consider the energy involved. And they're less good at containing leaks, which is the main reason for wanting plastic bags in the first place.
What I do miss is the big pen of useful cardboard boxes that supermarkets used to have for the taking. It seems to me that the wholesale packaging is much less conducive to re-use these days (cardboard tray + shrink-wrap being typical, rather than a box), and it just goes straight to recycling.