Bernard O'Shea: This is my hack so you'll never forget your Bag for Life

Before this, those flimsy, free-of-charge bags were everywhere - a significant contributor to the 5% of national litter they made up. Also, every kitchen in Ireland had a "bag drawer". I'm sure kitchen designers pre-2002 had to compensate for this in their designs. But by 2007, thanks to the levy, plastic bag litter had plummeted to less than 1% of national waste. Think about it. No more was the lonely sight of a blue-and-white faded plastic bag to be seen gorged on by a hungry ditch. 

When was the last time you saw someone run down a street when it was raining, using a plastic bag as a hat, holding it like they were making their impression of a nervous bull in Pamplona?

This initiative didn't just reduce litter; it also changed behaviours. Per capita, usage of plastic bags went from a whopping 37 bags per year to a much more reasonable 22. And the non-plastic cherry on top? The levy generated a whopping €110 million for an Environmental Fund from 2002 to 2007. If my maths are correct (and there probably are not; I barely passed it for the Leaving Cert), roughly 1.2 million bags are bought yearly. Plus, as a bonus, fewer plastic bags means less ocean pollution.

But it launched a new industry, the "Bag for Life" or BFL craze. (Ok, it was only a craze for me, and yes, I'm the only one who calls them BFLs). Having a bag for "life" reminds me of a marriage ceremony. "Do you, Bernard O'Shea, take this massive blue Ikea bag to keep in your boot, use every time and never lose it, until death or not bothering to put it back into your car after you put the shopping away… do you part?" The honest answer was, "I don't."

The impact of forgetting your bag for life extends beyond just one trip to the shop. Each time we use a single-use plastic bag, we contribute to the staggering amount of plastic waste in our environment. These bags often end up in landfills, oceans, and other natural habitats, harming wildlife and polluting ecosystems.

It's easy to beat yourself up over small mistakes like forgetting a reusable bag or forgetting to leave the bins out … again (I can hear my wife scream, "YOU HAVE ONE JOB!!!”) but it's important not to let my good old friend Irish guilt get in the way. Instead of letting the moment go like this: "I can't believe it, I could make a glamping site at Electric Picnic with the number of BFLs I have in the hot press, and now I'm buying more." 

I've let these moments serve as motivation for making a sustainable choice. I have come up with the idea that my beloved partner calls "possibly the only good idea you have ever had" for never forgetting your bags for life.

I tape a two-euro coin to the inside of my six favourite BFLs. That way, instead of forgetting a bag, I'm leaving €2 behind me, and you'll also have a coin for the trolley every time. What's better than the thought of leaving your hard-earned cash behind to motivate you to remember your reusable bags?

You could also go in a chic direction and buy one of those wicker baskets. The ones you like staring into at the checkout. They are always full of organic cheese and one bread roll. The child standing beside it with their thin, effortlessly-cool parent is well-behaved and looking puzzled at you, trying to keep your Tasmanian devil child away from the sweets as they scream, "LOOK DADDY, I FOUND TWO EUROS IN THIS BAG."