There has been a recent government campaign to remind us all to bring our carrier bags with us the next time we go food shopping.
The ‘Get a Bag Habit’ campaign has a poster that shows the front door of a house with a bright red bag slung on the staircase railing. The tagline says ‘don’t forget your carrier bags’.
Since the time carrier bags became uncool because Anya Hindmarch designed the ‘I’m not a plastic bag’ canvas bag which sold for over £200, progress has been unsatisfactory.
Humans, as always, have been slow to change and averse to new ideas that challenge their lifestyles.
Kicking the plastic bag habit has long been a lifestyle for me. Apart from lining your bin, they are as uncool and unreliable in doing its job.
Many are unsupportive of heavy items like fruits and juice cartons, requiring another layer to support it, thus creating another piece of waste.
Carrying more than one full bag on each hand means they inevitably slap against your legs and merry-go-round your palms into a twist. Even its crunchiness is a sore to the ears and its smell so synthetic you could be intoxicated.
Folding carrier bags
Therefore, in response to this slow-growing movement, I am going to demonstrate how to fold away carrier bags into a samosa shape so it can be easily tucked away into your bag, or pocket for that matter.
This is something I picked up from an ex-flatmate, but am sure is not new to many. A genius origami exercise.
1. Flatten the bag with your hands, and smooth out the creases underneath the folds on both sides. The bag needs to be paper flat in order to work.
2. Fold it into half, then into another half. The bag should now be about 8cm wide.
3. Starting from the bottom edge, fold the corners into triangles and keep going to the top.
4. Tuck the handles into the folds to finish off.
5. You have a hassle-free carrier bag that can be easily popped into your handbag. This is also a good space-saving tip for cupboards and drawers.
Wan Phing Lim 