Councillor backing bid to bin plastic bags

CITY councillor Ewan Aitken is encouraging residents to back a campaign to make plastic bags a thing of the past in the Capital.

The Craigentinny and Duddingston councillor is supporting the bid by environmental campaigner Gordon Millar and Green councillor Alison Johnstone to persuade the city council to move towards becoming a plastic bag-free city, and to encourage the Scottish Parliament to bring in a tax on the bags.

Cllr Aitken, who is Labour's candidate for the Scottish Parliament seat of Edinburgh Eastern, said: "By now the joy of clearing up the post Christmas Day mess, especially the packaging, will have hit you.

"Of all packaging, plastic bags are one of the most damaging for our environment and yet one of the easiest to reduce."