This could be unpopular, but I know there are others lurking in the shadows thinking the same thing.
I know they're with me, because I hear their exasperated sighs and grunts at the self-serve check out when they realise - like me - they've let themselves down once again.
Because I now live in Canberra, where plastic bags are shunned.
Maybe I'm so outraged because I come from a family where "grabbing a few things while I'm out" means coming home with at least a trolley-load of stuff. Maybe it's because despite how short my shopping list is I always end up finding an extra five things I forgot I needed. Maybe it's because the only time everything seems to be on special is when I pop in for a carton of milk, bagless once again because I only needed one lousy litre.
It's taught me a lot, at least. I now know the capacity of my handbag is its usual contents plus two single-serve brown rice packets and eight Chobanis (for $10, how could I turn down that saving?). Alas, the bittersweet moment on the way to the checkout when strawberries are $2 a punnet and the tuna is reduced, too, and I'm reminded my juggling skills aren't as great as my ability to bag a bargain. Maybe the real problem is my lack of disposable income, but let's tackle the gender pay gap another day.
I'm not anti-improvement, I'm anti-inconvenience. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for being environmentally friendly. I make conscious decisions to reduce my mark on the planet; I pick up wrappers and rubbish and turn lights off when I walk out of the room. I flick my appliances off at the power point and take reusable cups to work. If I'm going away for a few days, I turn everything but the fridge off at the fuse box.
But, forgive me, I struggle with paying for a "heavy duty" plastic bag at the checkout when I'm bursting out of my handbag, held to ransom with the closest choice being the purchase of yet another "dolphin killer", as a colleague aptly referred to them. You know, the ones that appear much more choking hazard and considerably less environmentally friendly than their flimsy grey counterparts.
Perhaps their longer lifespan means we use fewer of them. Perhaps 90 per cent of the population isn't like me and actually remembers to put the bags back in the car, avoiding a useless collection in their kitchen.
Nonetheless, my argument is this: If I'm going to be held to ransom at the checkout with nowhere to put my goods, please, force me into buying a green bag or a canvas bag with a witty slogan or even a crocheted knapsack - anything further from the "use a few times and discard" end of the spectrum.
Wasn't that the point of the bag ban anyway?
Margaret Atwood gets it: "We are a society dying, said Aunt Lydia, of too much choice."
What's the little thing that annoys you the most? Let us know in the comments below, or, if you really want to get it off your chest, email us at online@canberratimes.com.au
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