AT a time when retail outlets charge 5p for a plastic bag, I'm left wondering if all that previous publicity was a smoke screen dreamt up by some spiv in advertising to create an environmentally friendly image.

It’s clear from visiting any supermarket that the use of plastic has increased quite substantially since then and to the detriment of the environment and its wildlife.

A visit to most supermarkets clearly shows that fruit and vegetables are wrapped in plastic when paper bags would have been a better choice if necessary in the first place.

Paper is easily recyclable and the same should apply to the packaging found in most bakery departments.

Grease proof paper would do the job nicely at the butchers and fishmongers department with glass bottles, instead of plastic ones, becoming increasingly the more sensible option given the problems associated with plastic waste.

Scientists estimate there are over five trillion pieces of plastic discarded in the oceans around our globe each year, weighing more than a quarter of a million tons.

This growing plastic threat to wildlife does not biodegrade, it breaks down into increasingly smaller pieces that are easy for animals to consume.

Our wildlife is suffering from malnutrition, intestinal blockage or slow poisoning from chemicals within that plastic.

There is increasing evidence that these toxic plastic particles are entering our food chain as well.

What we as consumers can do is ask for paper bags instead of plastic ones.

We ought to write or speak to store managers in the hope that they can influence head office decision making.

But our best bet is to contact our MP in the hope that legislation through a private member's bill can come about through Westminster with some urgency.

MIKE FRY, Moorland Crescent, Upton