Customers at Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Marks & Spencer, and Tesco are being encouraged to reuse and recycle their carrier bags, and to use long-life bags, as part of a council campaign currently running in the stores' Chichester outlets.

An estimated 17.5 billion plastic bags are given away at supermarket tills every year, equivalent to over 290 bags for every person in the UK. Now Chichester District Council has joined forces with the shops to push home the 'green' message by creating a pop-up stand that tours the participating sites, reminding shoppers of the startling statistics surrounding carrier bag use.

Councillor Pieter Montyn, Portfolio Holder for the Environment at Chichester District Council, said, "Some 150 million plastic carrier bags are used in the UK each week. This initiative between Chichester District Council and the supermarkets, one of several projects featured in the council's Waste Minimisation Strategy, offers a timely reminder about the consequences of that. It's shocking to realise that the average plastic bag is used for just 14 minutes, but can take up to 500 years to decay in landfill."

---