First They Came for the Straws
Most people knew that replacing plastic straws with paper straws was a stupid idea. And it was. Ever heard of paper mache? You can create that easily by mixing paper with liquid. Good luck finishing a fast food milkshake with a paper straw.
If I ever buy a drink that requires a straw, I’ll get three straws which usually is enough. Two paper straws per drink are absolutely essential. The first one turn to mush at about two thirds of the way through.
Carrier Bag Handles Don’t Work Anymore
The problem with carrier bags started about a month ago. We have for years used these white bags on the left:
And we hang them on a door handle to put rubbish in:
Never had a problem until one day, I was moving the full bag of rubbish to the bin. And one of the handles broke. Unlike thousands of times before, I was looking at a load of rubbish strewn across the floor.
Oh well, I thought. These things happen. But, it happened with the next bag. And the next one. After about the fourth bag failing, I tried having both bag handles hanging on the door handle (as shown in photo above). We’d always had just one bag handle hanging as it’s much easier to put rubbish in that way.
The situation did not improve. They still broke as soon as I attempted to move them. Luckily, I was now ready though and would hold the underneath of the crap bags.
We tried the yellow bags shown in the photo too. Exactly the same problem. Different shop. Different manufacturer, Same not fit for purpose product.
Milk Containers are Also Now Crap
And milk container quality has also plummeted. Next time you see a load of them in a cage at a supermarket, look how caved in many of them are. We usually get our 6 pinters from Lidl. There are always numerous milk containers with the lid squashed in, the sides folding inwards, and other defects that seem to have been introduced over the last year or so.
Saving Costs?
Clearly something is going wrong has gone wrong. I suspect that manufacturers are pushing the minimum thickness of these products down below the point at which they will not do the job for which they were intended.
Lidl Saves the Day
Tried some “compostable caddy liners (15 litre)” from Lidl. Not had any problems with these guys yet. Recommended
Effortlessly hanging by one handle
Updates
2025-01-05: Add Lidl saves the day section
