IT was an ambitious plan.
But Kirklees Council has failed to implement a plastic bag-free zone in Kirklees.
Back in 2007, council members pledged to become the first urban area in the country to banish the single-use plastic bag.
But it’s no surprise we’ve failed, says Green party councillor Andrew Cooper who claims something needs to be done on a national level.
The failure to stop the use of plastic bags in Kirklees reflects what’s happening across the rest of the country.
According to newly-released figures from the government’s Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap) last year an increasing number of us used single-use plastic bags instead of environmentally friendly alternatives.
That’s despite plastic bag use falling after 2006 after a push to stop 11bn plastic carriers going to landfill, waterways and the sea.
Green councillor Andrew Cooper told It’s Our World: “It’s all very well the council making these exaltations to people but we need to go beyond that and actually get some action from the government and a proper framework in place.
“The council hasn’t got the powers to do something like that – it requires national legislation.
“There are alternatives to plastic bags out there and we’re supposed to have ‘the greenest government ever’ so we actually need some action from the government.”
People in Kirklees use 115 million plastic bags a year.
Two Honley mums are trying to tackle the problem.
Claire Peto-Cook and Hanny Wadsworth sell environmentally friendly Footprint Bags.
