It was difficult to miss the headlines last spring when Modbury became the first town in Europe to say 'no' to using carrier bags. Over the last few months even more South Hams shops have followed suit!

The Co-op in Modbury went plastic bag free on Saturday 28 April along with the other retailers in the town. In July 2007, Co-op stores in Newton Ferrers and South Brent joined the movement that wants to see bags being re-used or recycled.

The picturesque market town of Modbury, with a population of just 1,650, became famous overnight when all 43 traders in the town turned to more environmentally sensitive ways of wrapping their customers' purchases.

Rebecca Hosking: "Plastic bags don't degrade, they simply break up into smaller and smaller pieces and remain in the environment."

The idea germinated when local wildlife camerawoman Rebecca Hosking saw at first hand the effect plastic waste has on the marine environment and wildlife. "Plastic bags don't degrade, they simply break up into smaller and smaller pieces and remain in the environment," said Rebecca. "I wanted to do something about it, and when I went home to Modbury I talked to some friends who are traders in the town who were supportive."

It took Modbury just 10 weeks to go from inspiration to implementation. Rebecca screened her film at a meeting of Modbury's Chamber of Commerce in February 2007. After discussing the issues, the traders agreed to go plastic-free. The Chamber of Commerce swung into operation sourcing reusable bags, designing logos and preparing to launch the campaign. South Hams District Council (SHDC) helped out by providing "amnesty bins" for people to recycle their old plastic bags which were then turned into designer furniture and sold in Modbury's Brownston Gallery.

Many communities around the UK have contacted Rebecca and SHDC to find out how to go plastic bag free in their town or village. "My best advice to anyone who wants their town to be free of plastic bags is that they are going to have to fight the fight themselves," says Rebecca. "There can be no blueprint because every town is different. Every town has different traders, different needs and different attitudes. You, as a local in your community, will know those issues far better than me. If you want to change attitudes in your town you must have the trust of the traders, and to do that it has to come from a local resident."

Visit www.plasticbagfrre.com for more information on how your community can follow Modbury's example.

This article appears in the South Hams, the glossy magazine of the SHDC. The council has kindly given permission to 999Kingsbridge to publish the story.

Plastic bag facts:

• On average a plastic carrier bag is used for just 12 minutes before being discarded.
• A plastic bag can take between 500 and 1000 years to break down in the environment.
• In the UK at least 200 million plastic bags end up as litter on our beaches, streets and parks every year.
• In the marine environment plastic bag litter is lethal, killing at least 100,000 birds, whales, seals and turtles every year.
• After an animal is killed by plastic bags, its body decomposes and the plastic is released back into the environment where it can kill again.