Brighton to become first English city to ban plastic bags
A city is bidding to become the first in Britain to bring in a ban on plastic bags in an effort to reduce their impact on the environment.
Councillors in Brighton and Hove have voted overwhelmingly in favour of turning the city into a plastic bag-free zone by asking retailers not to hand them out.
The Conservative-led council has no legal powers to enforce an outright ban but it has passed a motion to encourage shopkeepers to stop giving the bags away.
Members were originally urged to back a motion for the council’s chief executive to write to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) demanding a 20p tax on every plastic bag.
It would be similar to the levy introduced in the Republic of Ireland which has been seen as one of the most successful anti-littering devices introduced in the country.
But councillors in Brighton and Hove decided instead to support the tougher proposal of a ban on plastic bags, which was suggested by Conservative councillor Maria Caulfield.
She said today: “We felt introducing a 20p levy would not encourage enough people to stop using plastic bags. And while 20p may not mean much to people on higher incomes, we felt it would be for low income earners.
“By supporting this motion, we are making a statement to say that we want to work with local retailers to eliminate plastic bags. We also want to lobby on a national level so that we can gain legal powers to enforce this ban.
“Support for the plan has been generally positive locally but it will be the big stores that we will have to convince.”
In April, the small Devon rural town of Modbury became the first in Britain to bring in a ban on plastic bags.
