3 June 2008
No plastic bags, please.
Wealden District Council is launching a drive to discourage major retailers and independent shops from providing plastic carrier bags for their customers.
The Council has approved a motion calling for effective measures to be taken to discourage the use of plastic carrier bags in the district.
Proposing the motion, Councillor Roy Galley said the UK used nine billion plastic carrier bags a year, which meant that up to 100,000 tonnes of plastic were being thrown away each year.
"The average person uses 300 plastic carrier bags a year which, if they are not recycled, end up in landfill sites," said Cllr Galley. "We live in a throw away society, and anything we can do to lessen the amount going into landfill needs to be done, otherwise we may end up like some other European cities, drowning in their own rubbish."
There was widespread support for the motion with Councillors agreeing that a key part of any campaign to discourage plastic bag use was to persuade members of the public to say no to plastic bags when offered them in shops. Instead they can either reuse existing plastic bags or take their own cloth and canvas bags with them when they go when the go shopping. A number of supermarkets in Wealden have introduced recycling facilities for plastic bags in their stores.
The Council also aims to encourage local supermarkets to lobby their own suppliers to persuade them to produce less wasteful packaging. Wealden hopes to work together with all local authorities in East Sussex in an attempt cut down on plastic carrier bags.
"As well as proving an eyesore in rural areas, wind blown plastic bags can be extremely harmful to farm animals, wildlife and marine life, causing a risk of choking," said Councillor Pam Doodes, leader of Wealden District Council. "I would urge all shoppers in Wealden to start taking their own bags with them before they set off to the shops. Small actions like this can make a world of difference."
Every week is recycling week in Wealden, but as part of National Recycling Week, June 2-8; Wealden District Council has organised a stand at the Uckfield Farmers' Market on Saturday June 7 to explain about recycling and composting and answer questions about what happens to waste picked up on the Council's recycling rounds. The stand is open from 9am to 1pm. A recycling directory, which explains where you can recycle a range of items including mobile phones, books, batteries, shoes and CDs, is available on the Wealden web site
Earlier this year Wealden District Council approved a Sustainability Policy and a Climate Change action plan.
