Suffolk Coastal has stated its commitment to carry on working in partnership with the community to reduce the use of disposable plastic bags in the district but is also now calling on the Government to take urgent action.

Last week’s Full Council meeting discussed the environmental damage being caused by plastic bags and heard what steps are already being taken to tackle the problem.

“We have set an ambitious goal of striving to make Suffolk Coastal a plastic bag free district as soon as possible, and certainly this Council will continue to work with towns and parish councils, local businesses and the public,” said Cllr Andrew Nunn, Cabinet Member for the Green Environment.

“There are already some commendable initiatives underway, supported either directly or indirectly by this Council, and we have agreed a deadline of the next two years to deliver real progress on ridding our district of plastic bags.

“However, while working with our communities will help us all take big strides towards this goal, the reality is that it is probably only the Government that can make the big difference. On behalf of the Council, I am writing to the Prime Minister to ask him urgently to keep his promise to take the appropriate action,” added Cllr Nunn.

In February, Gordon Brown wrote in the Daily Mail that it was time for the Government, individuals and supermarkets to ‘accept our own responsibility for ending the environmental damage we are causing. I want to make it clear that if Government compulsion is needed to make the change, we will take the necessary steps.’

It is estimated that 13 billion plastic bags are given out to shoppers in this country every year. To help make an impact locally, Suffolk Coastal has been working with other councils in the Suffolk Waste Partnership (SWP).

As well as a series of countywide initiatives, the SWP has backed with £500 plans by the Less Plastic for Woodbridge group to hand out jute bags on June 26 and 28.

“Local communities are taking positive steps, and SWP is behind moves to contact major retailers to encourage them to reduce the number of bags they hand out.

“This Council is also doing its bit. For example, from its summer edition, the 5,000 homes in our district who receive an addressed copy of our magazine Coastline will now get it in an envelope, rather than polybagged. We are also looking to alternatives to plastic sacks for those homes that do not yet have a wheelie bin for their household rubbish.

“Now it is the Government’s turn to take the appropriate action. The Prime Minister wrote that legislation could be enacted and if Mr Brown is serious about being Green then it is high time that he backed those words up with urgent actions,” added Cllr Nunn.