THE call is growing in Ledbury for the establishment of a "hub" for bio-degradable packaging, from which retailers can buy in bulk and help tackle the curse of the plastic bag.

The idea of the hub is being examined by the Ledbury Food Group, and the organisation wants to know what people think.

A spokesman said: "In Ledbury there are already some retailers that are using bio degradable packaging, including bags, napkins, boxes and hot drink containers. One of those is Caroline Handley, of Handley Organics who is a strong advocate of all things green."

She said: "As an organic grower and retailer we have to comply with the Soil Association’s standards for all of our packaging, from our paper bags to the bio degradable carrier bags, but it does mean we are confident that we are doing our bit to put less waste into the ocean. At Handley’s we are always looking at how we can use bio degradable products, as well as selling products that do not have a long term detrimental impact on the environment, such as dish cloths that can be used over 1700 times.

"Buying in bulk does help save costs. If Ledbury could set up a ‘hub’ where a range of bio-degradable packaging or food related products could be stored, local food retailers could draw down from this large bulk bought store: reducing the cost of these products for all of us. This could apply to retailers who are non-food providers, for items such as bio-degradable carrier bags and paper bags”.

The Food Group spokesman said: "Ledbury may not be on the coast, but it does have fantastic countryside which suffers from plastic waste in our parks, on the hills and country lanes.

"We live in a disposable society, but that doesn’t mean that we should continue to use single use plastics that take several hundred to thousands of years to decompose, when biodegradable bags or corn-starch take away containers can take between three and six months to decompose.

"How do we try to make our beautiful part of the country become a plastic-free zone? Establishing a hub could make a significant step forward to making Ledbury a plastic free town."

The Food Group welcomes opinions at: ask@ledburyfoodgroup.org