NEW Forest, Conservative Councillor, Derek Tipp, hopes that Hampshire County Councillors, like myself, will take note of what he describes as the plastic bag myth, (In my View, March 18). Possibly, his defence of the plastic bag is in part motivated by the continued use of plastic bags to dispose of household waste in the New Forest area. However, just a little research on the subject reveals general scientific agreement that there is good reason for all of us to do without these items.

Estimates vary but I have discovered that the UK gets through between 10 and 17 billion plastic bags a year. This equates to at least 167 bags per person, every year. We could save environmental damage on the production, transportation and disposal of the bags, if we all simply used re-usable bags. Most plastic bags are not biodegradable. They take at least 400 years to break down, leaving toxic bits that contaminate the soil, waterways and the oceans. The toxins enter the food chain when ingested by animals. Plastic bags are perhaps the most common item spotted in hedges and vegetation in the New Forest District.

Plastic bags are amongst the most visible symbols of environmental waste. I think we should be concentrating efforts on minimising waste. We need to reduce the amount of plastic bags in use. Retailers can do more by reducing the vast amounts of unnecessary packaging on things we buy. Our local councils could be a lot greener, by cutting down on the volume of glossy leaflets and publications it produces and distributes. The challenge is on!

County Councillor, David Harrison