Signs remind shoppers about bags

It is estimated that the average family uses 60 plastic bags each week

Fifteen signs have been erected in the five main car parks of a Surrey town in support of a residents' campaign to ban the use of plastic bags.

They remind shoppers who have come to Godalming in their cars: "Have you remembered your shopping bags?".

Godalming Plastic Bag Free campaigners Ruth Bolton and Gill Brennan gained backing from Surrey County Council and Waverley Borough Council for the signs.

Ms Bolton said many people forgot to take reusable bags out of their cars.

"Without a reusable bag with them, shoppers will use plastic bags offered to them by shops to carry their goods.

"We hope these signs will remind shoppers to take their own bags with them and so avoid consuming new plastic bags needlessly," she said.

'Make a difference'

Since last November, the two women have spoken to traders and local groups, held stalls at town events, contributed to local publications and initiated a poster campaign around the town.

"Godalming shoppers alone use millions of plastic bags every year.

"These bags end up in landfills or get blown around and end up in the river, damaging our wildlife and littering our town," Ms Bolton said.

She added that the average family used 60 plastic bags each week.

"Each time we say no to a new plastic bag, we can make a difference to this waste and pollution," she said.