Traders in Clare are helping attack the scourge of the throwaway plastic carrier as part of a council campaign.

But on Tuesday it looked as if most shoppers already had the issue in the bag.

From the queue in the Co-op to customers in the baker's they were packing their purchases into canvas, raffia and stout re-usable plastic.

Most did not need the strong paper carriers which St Edmundsbury Borough Council has given out free as part of a week-long anti-waste drive.
But buyers and sellers alike welcomed the campaign which highlights the problems caused by billions of plastic bags handed out every year across the country.

The council challenged Clare to go plastic-free for a week to get people thinking about managing without them.

Shopkeepers who signed up to the project were issued with brown paper bags carrying a zero-waste message to use instead. Some added their own ways of banishing plastic and plan to continue after the campaign is over.
Butcher Mark Humphreys has been wrapping meat in greaseproof paper instead of plastic bags as well as using the council's paper carriers.

"In the spirit of the special week we are trying to use as little plastic as possible," he said. "Paper is more expensive, but we will see how it goes and may carry on using it if our customers are happy.

"They just need to remember to put the meat on a plate when they get home – they can't just put it straight in the fridge because the wrapping could leak.

"I hope people will re-use the council bags because they are good quality. I have looked at buying paper carriers in the past and they were very expensive, but I may well look at it again now."

Greengrocer John Orbell said a lot of customers already used their own shopping bags over and over again. "Also more and more people do not take small plastic bags but have their fruit and vegetables, even things like sprouts, put loose into one carrier," he added.

Mr Orbell, who normally uses around 500 plastic carriers a week, praised the council campaign for making people aware of the overuse of plastic. "People have just got to get into the habit of bringing bags with them," he said.

Customer Jane Creswell, packing bananas into a straw bag, agreed. "I usually bring my own bags in. I'm all for using less plastic," she said.

Outside the Co-op, shopper Pauline Salter said: "I've been using my own shopping bags for months – you have to do what you can. But if I do get plastic carriers I recycle them as bin liners."

Sisters-in-law Amy Ratcliffe and Eileen Ellan were out shopping with fabric bags and a trolley. "We are already doing our bit, but for the last six or seven weeks we have been making a big effort not to use plastic bags, otherwise you find you finish up with so many of them," said Amy.

In Hurst's Bakers owner Julie Moody will only hand over a plastic bag if the customer makes a donation to charity.

There are collecting tins for St Nicholas Hospice, Barnardos, Cerebra and Cancer Research on the counter.

"I've been doing this for about 18 months and 95% of people think it's an excellent idea," she said.

Julie has always wrapped her bread, buns and cakes in paper, and also sells canvas bags for customers to re-use. "There are too many plastic bags around. You see them lying everywhere," she said.

Clare's Co-op store is promoting its Fairtrade cotton bags and plastic "bags for life" which it replaces free and recycles. From next week shoppers will be among the first to get the UK's first home-compostable plastic carrier bags.

Manager Naomi Brown said: "We need to show shoppers there are alternatives and that by using them we can help reduce the impact on the environment."