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Efforts to end the 'plastic bag culture'
07/03/2008
The town aiming to become plastic bag free first in Scotland will receive a visit today by the Environment Minister.
Michael Russell will meet representatives from Selkirk Plastic Bag Free group to hear of their efforts to go plastic bag free by March 31.
Mr Russell said:
"I am very pleased to see this campaign in Selkirk to replace plastic bags with alternatives. Local retailers are setting a good example by agreeing not to issue new plastic bags.
"There is still a long way to go for retailers to deliver the UK target of reducing the overall impact of carrier bags by 25 percent by the end of 2008 and I welcome any action by retailers to reduce waste from plastic bags.
"Plastic bags are a blight on Scotland's landscape. We use over one billion of them in Scotland each year and the majority are just thrown away. This is an excessively high amount and a considerable waste of scarce resources. We must act now to end Scotland's 'plastic bag culture'.
"This also demonstrates the key role for consumers to play as well. One of the 10 Greener Pledges we launched in January is to reuse carrier bags.
"Across Scotland, we must all reuse and recycle bags as much as possible and whenever we're at the checkout ask ourselves - 'do I need a bag?' Reducing the unnecessary use of plastic bags is crucial if we are to achieve a zero waste society in Scotland."
The initiative in Selkirk to make the town plastic bag free by March 31 involves residents being issued with replacement canvas-type bags. The project has been backed by traders and funding from Scottish Borders Council's community grants scheme.