The girl at the check-out didn't bat an eyelid. In fact she was so unphased that I had to ask: "Do a lot of people do this?"

She said: "No", and continued to scan my goods with a look of severe boredom.

I suppose I'd expected to get some kind of reaction to my behaviour. Something that would have solicited an explanation and allowed me to broadcast my actions.

But no.

What was I doing? Simply removing excess packaging from my purchases.

Regular readers will remember my fury about the plastic, cardboard and foil used to wrap one measly Easter egg.

Well now I'm acting on my anger, and every time I pay at the supermarket I make a stand by taking off any packaging I deem unnecessary.

Packaging has a double-whammy effect on the environment. Not only does it fill landfill if not properly recycled, but it's production uses up energy too.

The Government is considering allowing councils to charge residents for their rubbish, according to its weight (I pity Oxford City because their folk can't get to grips with a wheelie bin, let alone a bill for their garbage).

If this is the case, why should I have to pay for excess packaging? If enough people remove anything unnessary at the checkout, then maybe supermarkets will have to reconsider what they stock, forcing producers to look at how much waste they're producing.