ALMOST 100 million plastic bags are used in Kirklees every year.

Now a councillor is challenging supermarkets to help make Kirklees a plastic bag free area.

If the campaign is a success, Kirklees will become the first plastic bag free borough in the country – but they need to get the supermarkets on side.

Almondbury councillor Ann Denham has written to all supermarket managers to find out more information about their plastic bag use and get them on board.

Clr Denham said: “The supermarkets have the power to reduce the number of bags given away.

“Taking measures to cut the use of plastic bags could avoid an environmental disaster in terms of litter, landfill sites and pollution.

“Hopefully the local supermarkets will support our aim of making Kirklees plastic bag free.”

Nationally, supermarkets hand out more than 17bn plastic bags a year adding almost 60,000 tonnes of plastic to landfill sites.

All Kirklees councillors have agreed to work towards making the borough the first in the country to become a plastic bag free zone.

Clr Denham has written to the managers of all local branches of Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Iceland and Asda to ask for their help to make the area greener.

She has asked for specific information about the numbers of bags handed out, whether they are free to customers, recyclable or biodegradable and what plans they have to reduce the number of bags used by customers.

She is awaiting their response.

The village of Meltham is already a step closer to becoming the first plastic carrier bag free village with residents and small businesses vowing to cut use.

Town councillors also say supermarket giant Morrisons, which is the biggest retailer in Meltham, has also agreed to look at ways of reducing the number of plastic bags they use by encouraging shoppers to adopt a recyclable bag for life.