Town's bid to ditch plastic bags

Shoppers in a Lincolnshire town are being urged to ditch plastic bags as part of a council campaign.

Sleaford Town Council has begun a drive to encourage shops and customers to use only reusable bags.

Debbie Scott, town development manager, said the council had contacted shops asking them to not give out disposable bags automatically.

Churches will also be making reusable bags designed by community groups to give to shoppers.

'Widely available'

Ms Scott said: "To get rid of the plastic bags altogether is difficult and nigh on impossible but if we can reduce the use of them, get people reusing bags and using bags made from recycled materials, then it's all good for the environment.

"We've got to get people in the habit of taking their reusable bags with them.

"We need to make them widely available and free wherever possible."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Monday that the government would convene a forum of supermarkets, the British Retail Consortium and others to look at how to reduce plastic bags to cut landfill waste.

"I am convinced that we can eliminate single-use disposable bags altogether, in favour of long-lasting and more sustainable alternatives," he said.