A MAJOR Alresford retailer has joined the campaign to rid the town of plastic bags.

The Co-op on West Street will replace its traditional plastic bag with a biodegradable version made from cornstarch at the end of March.

It follows a move from the Alresford Chamber of Commerce (ACC) last summer to persuade the town's retailers to replace plastic carriers with a reusable "Bag for Life" made from jute.

The Co-op claims the cornstarch bags, which will cost shoppers five pence, are the most environmentally friendly carrier available. The retailer is also offering customers a Fairtrade Bag for Life", costing 99p.

Lydia Sanderson, manager of Alresford's Co-op, said the store had begun phasing in the new biodegradable bags already and that 99 per cent of customers were in favour of the changes She said: "I believe it will be a very successful scheme. The culture in Alresford is great, everyone wants to help the environment. I came from Portsmouth where it's totally different."

"The jute bags from the chamber of commerce have been really successful, we can't keep up with the demand on these!"

Simon Evans, chairman of ACC, said he supported the Co-op's initiative and that the company could be a useful contact in the future for finding a supplier of biodegradable plastic bags for other retailers in Alresford.

But he said it was a challenge to find a biodegradable bag that would meet the differing needs of the town's retailers. He said: "My bags for the Naked Grape need to be stronger than say the butchers for example."

He added he thought the scheme would be popular with consumers and that they would not object to paying five pence for a bag. He said: "There's a clear reason for doing it. If it was just a moneymaking scheme they would have problems but it is not, it is an environmental initiative."

Ted Merdler, marketing manager at Southern Co-operatives, said: "We are delighted to be able to encourage a reduction in the amount of plastic bags used.

"The Co-op has always been a pioneer in ethical retailing - for instance by decreasing the amount of packaging used for a number of our own-brand products.

"Given the support from our customers (for a similar scheme in Overton, Hampshire) we are convinced that shoppers in Alresford will agree this is an important step forward for the environment and be happy to pay five pence for the bag, on which we make no profit."