A Newton Abbot man wants to give plastic shopping bags the sack and rid the town of an environmental eyesore and threat to wildlife. Roy Paver, a 58-year-old former soldier and firefighter, was inspired to launch his campaign following a trip to Australia. There it will be unlawful to use disposable bags from 2008 and shoppers are already making the change. He's also impressed with Ireland, where a 15 cent (10p) levy on each bag at the check out has cut usage by 90 per cent. 'A person's use of a plastic bag can be measured in minutes – it's however long it takes to get from the shops to their homes,' he said. 'Combine the growing number of plastic bags used every year with the hundreds of years it takes for them to break down and you have a major environmental problem.' Mr Paver said 17.5 billion plastic bags are given away each year in the UK, equivalent to 290 for every person. He has launched a website, http://www.sayno2plasticbags.org.uk">www.sayno2plasticbags.org.uk, and is now seeking sponsorship to buy 4,000 reusable, washable and ultimately recyclable tote bags that have a three-year life span. 'It will cost about £1,000, but with two sides to each bag that's 8,000 good adverts for someone,' he said. 'I'll give the bags out free, or the sponsor can, if they wish, and my dream to make Newton Abbot a plastic bag free zone will have started to materialise.' Right: Mr Paver spent £300 of his own cash to hand out 1,000 free Tesco 'bags for life' at the firm's Kingsteignton store. The store contributed another 1,000 and has dropped the regular price to 3p each. Replaced free when worn out, Mr Paver described the bags as 'better than nothing' but still wants his tote bags to be the carrier of choice. Visit http://www.sayno2plasticbag">www.sayno2plasticbag s.org.uk for more details.
