Brighton to be the first UK city to ban plastic bags

Bags like these will no longer be welcome in Brighton trolleys and supermarkets

Brighton has announced its plans to be the first British city to ban plastic bags.

City councillors from all parties have voted to do away with the bags, which have become the focus of green efforts to reduce waste and the nation's carbon footprint.

The council has no legal powers to enforce a ban, however, so its members have passed a motion to 'encourage' retailers to stop giving away the bags and reduce packaging.

Councillors have also agreed to lobby the Government, the city's three MPs and the Local Government Association for a change in the law to allow a legal ban.

The proposal, which has put the issue of bags on the agenda, was proposed by a Conservative councillor and supported by members from all other parties.

In April, the Devon town of Modbury set the trend by becoming the first in Britain to ban plastic bags from its shops.

All 43 traders and shopkeepers voluntarily switched to paper bags or others made from biodegradable cornstarch.

Earlier this month, traders in Overton, in Hampshire, including the Co-op, agreed to support a voluntary ban on plastic bags with a switch to the biodegradable versions.

Brighton councillors were originally asked by a Green Party member to give their support to the imposition of a national 20p tax on plastic bags, similar to a scheme that operates in the Republic of Ireland.

This was subsequently replaced by the tougher proposals from Conservative councillor, Maria Caulfield.

The motion adopted by members reads: "This Council seeks to support and encourage retailers, businesses and commercial manufacturers to eliminate excessive packaging, in particular the widespread use of plastic bags."

It asked council officials to write to the Government asking it to commission a report on the options for eliminating plastic bag use.

Members said the proposals were designed as a 'move towards Brighton & Hove becoming a plastic bag free city'.

Coun Caulfield said the motion 'sends a clear message to consumers, retailers that plastic bags are not good for the environment'.

The final vote to pass the motion was unanimous with Labour group leader Gill Mitchell adding: "We support any move to bring about some action on this issue."

Marks & Spencer has led the way among retailers in terms of reducing the use of plastic bags.

Earlier this year, it launched a trial in Northern Ireland which involved giving customers free re-usable bags and then introducing a charge of 5p for plastic bags.

The company also switched production of all of its UK clothing and home carrier bags to 100 per cent recycled plastic from April - a move that will reduce the amount of virgin plastic used each year by 2,000 tonnes.

IKEA introduced a 10p charge for its bio-degradable plastic bags last year. The discount retailers, Aldi and Lidl, also charge, although this is mainly a commercial measure.

Annually an estimated 17.5 billion plastics bags are given away nationally by supermarkets - enough to cover the combined area of London, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and West Yorkshire.

Each bag can take anything between 400 and 1,000 years to break down and rot away.

In Britain at least 200 million bags end up as waste on beaches, streets and parks every year.

European waste directives require the UK to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill by more than half by 2013 and to around a quarter of the current level by 2020.

Waitrose has run trials at 14 outlets where it has removed free carrier bags from a proportion of its checkouts.

Tesco is cutting its use of plastic bags by a quarter over the next two years. This includes incentives for shoppers to re-use their old bags.

Holders of its Clubcard get extra points, which can be redeemed through money-off vouchers, if they re-use their bags.

Sainsbury's initiatives have included the sale of the £5 'I'm Not a Plastic Bag' cotton and rope bag, designed by Anya Hindmarch, and giving away re-usable bags. Asda's efforts include a 10-week trial of bag-free checkouts.

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