Plastic bag debate going national

Regular Audlem Online readers will probably have voted in the current Vote Poll asking "Should Audlem join the list of communities that are banning the use of plastic bags?" So far, out of 270 votes cast, 71% have said 'yes' to a ban.

Yesterday, 33 councils in London voted for a ban and a list has been published in national newspapers showing many villages, towns and cities are also planning bans. Bradford is the largest so far in Britain but near-by Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme are also on the list. Abroad, big cities like Paris and San Francisco have banned the bags.

The media coverage says over a billion bags a month are given out in Britain.

The movement to ban them was started in Modbury, Devon. The 43 traders in the town stopped giving out plastic bags in a trial move yet trade did not fall off and the ban has now been made permanent. Other towns, like Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire and Overton in Hampshire, have followed suit while Brighton's councillors have called on local retailers to stop giving out the bags.

The list of 77 places planning to ban bags published today does not include a single Cheshire village or town. Could Audlem take the county lead? The voting so far in the Vote Poll indicates there could be significant support for such a move.

If you haven't yet voted, and would like to, click on Yes/No or Unsure in the Vote Poll box and then on Vote Now. And you could also join the debate on this topical issue by clicking on the "Forum" button at the top of this page and scrolling down the list of topics to find the one on plastic bags. Six people have already joined the debate. Why not make it more?

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