While the plastic bag charge in Britain has been causing a bit of an uproar among shoppers, one man has managed to avoid the 5p charge. Martin McCaskie from Mold in North Wales is taking being thrifty to great heights by reusing the same plastic Tesco carrier bag for 34 years. 

The retired technician and grandfather-of-three got the plastic bag back in 1981, which was released at the time to commemorate the shopping chain’s 50th birthday and he has used it more than 2,000 times.

“My motto is ‘waste not, want not’. I always keep it folded in the pocket of my coat in case we ever need one,” the 72-year-old told the Daily Mail.

“It’s proved very handy since the charge came in for plastic bags in Wales four years ago, but even before then I would never throw away a plastic bag. I just use it as and when it’s needed. You can’t put anything too heavy in it but it’s fine for groceries.”

Until recently, McCaskie’s family was unware of his green efforts until he was visiting his daughter Helen’s house to pick up some magazines and he pulled out his trusty white, orange and blue plastic bag. His daughter then took a picture of it and posted to Facebook and the British pensioner’s story went viral. 

“It’s got a small hole in it but he still insists on using it. You could never tell he’s had it for 34 years because it’s so neat,” said McCaskie’s daughter. “I think it says something nice about people from that generation that they know the value of things and get a good use out of them.”

Matt Tomlinson, store manager at Tesco in Mold, said: "It’s great to see that a customer as loyal as Mr McCaskie can rely on such a vintage Tesco carrier bag."