A shop is leading the way in the drive to consign the plastic bag to history.Shoppers at the Southern Co-op store in Emsworth will no longer be able to pick up a free plastic bag at the checkout to stuff full of shopping. Instead they will have to pay five pence for a corn starch bag, which can afterwards be put in the compost heap to decompose.

Emsworth Business Association launched a bid for the town to go plastic-bag-free last year, and the Co-op has taken up the challenge.Ted Merdler, marketing manager at Southern Co-operatives, said: ‘We are delighted to be able to encourage a reduction in the amount of plastic bags used.’

The Co-op held a competition for youngsters to launch the first day of scrapping its carrier bags yesterday. Local children were asked to create a collage showing how they thought Emsworth would look in the future if people continued to use as many carrier bags as they do at the moment. 

[1] The News 01 April 2008