Poll: Should shoppers be made to pay for plastic carrier bags?
It's changed the way people go about their weekly shop, raised thousands of pounds for good causes and is helping the environment.
And today, as shoppers across England prepare to be hit by a 5p charge for every plastic bag they use, those across the Shropshire border say they hardly notice the difference.
The charge was brought in by the Welsh Assembly in October 2011 and it was last week reported that major supermarkets have reported usage has plummeted by 71 per cent.
Meanwhile, what money has been raised by the sales has been given to charities and good causes by many major supermarkets.
And while shoppers in England may grumble about having to rummage around for an extra 5p piece or remembering to bring their own bags, shoppers in Welshpool have largely welcomed the scheme.
The new law will require large shops in England to charge for all single-use plastic carrier bags from October 5
All retailers with 250 or more full-time equivalent employees will have to charge a minimum of 5p for the single-use plastic carrier bags they provide
Some bags are exempt, including wrapping for food, medicines, and bags to carry goldfish back from the pet shop
To avoid the charge, customers can bring their own bags from home
Shoppers wanting bags from supermarkets in England will have to pay the 5p charge from next month.
Louise Jones, 48, from Welshpool, says she tells her friends across the border in Shropshire that the new rules will soon become a way of life.
She said: "It is not something I pay particular attention to, if I am honest. If I remember to take a bag that is great, if not, I have to buy one, but it is only 5p, I am not sure people from England will be too inconvenienced."
Two dedicated users of bags for life are 90-year-old couple John and Kathleen Burke from Caerhowell, near Welshpool.
Mrs Burke said: "We always bring our bags for life with us, although we are in Morrisons today I have a trolley full of Aldi and Lidl bags for life. They don't mind because I think everybody is happy we are doing our bit for the environment.
"When I come to Welshpool I think it has turned into quite a scruffy town and it concerns me, but if we all try and do our bit then it can improve."
Mr Burke added: "It is no problem to remember your own bags to avoid the charge, I am sure people across the border will be fine."
Christine Ridgeway, from nearby Montgomery, had just been shopping for essentials in the Iceland store in Puzzle Square.
"I will just pay the charge if I am popping in for something – it is not something I pay a great deal of attention to," she said.
"Sometimes I will bring a stronger plastic bag with me, but I don't mind paying 15p or 20p to take my shopping home with ease."
Retired Joan Williams, from Churchstoke, was in town for a day shopping with her friend Audrey Powell.
"It is absolutely 100 per cent correct that there should be the charge introduced in England," she said. "It has driven down usage in Wales considerably and we are saving the environment too.
"I re-use lots of old plastic bags and always have a bag for life with me. My favourite says Mystery Shopper on it, which gets some looks in shops. If we all do our bit, the world will be better for everyone."
Janet Williams, 57, from Guilsfield, said packing old plastic bags on shopping trips was now routine. "I hardly even think about it any more," she said. "I just kept a collection before it all came in and now I either bring one of those with me or I use one of the bigger plastic bags they sell which you can get more in. I think it just is more of getting into a routine than anything. I'm sure people in England will moan, we did here first but you have got to just realise it is better for the environment."
Husband Paul, 55, added: "It is only 5p anyway. I don't tend to notice, especially when you pay by card. Sometimes you can get muddled at a self service till though and end up forgetting and then having to balance all sorts as you walk to the car."
The Welsh Assembly said it believes between £17 and £22 million has been raised for charity by the charge.
A spokesman said: "Before the charge, when you went shopping, you were likely to be given at least one free bag. Then you were given another the next time. We tend to only use them once, which is a waste of resources and can become a litter problem.
"Each plastic bag can take up to 500 to 1,000 years to decompose, and may never break down in landfill."
David Lonsdale, interim head of the Welsh Retail Consortium, added: "The fall in carrier bag usage in Wales shows that the charge is having the desired impact.
"Voluntary measures such as offering re-usable bags and recycling facilities in store while significant, only get us so far and the only way to achieve reductions of 70 to 80 per cent as seen in Wales and Northern Ireland is by introducing a charge.
"Retailers in Wales have developed processes for allocating the net proceeds from the charge which is benefiting a range of very good causes."
