ECO-CONSCIOUS councillors in Monmouthshire are in line to ban all sales of plastic bottles in its premises across the county.

The Labour group’s initiative won cross-party support when MCC discussed the matter at its full council meeting last week.

The authority agreed to eliminate the sale of all sizes of the containers available in council-owned properties.

It’s believed Monmouthshire could be the first authority in Wales to implement such a restriction.

Councillors agreed the scheme should be further discussed by the relevant select committee to work out the practicalities of a ban.

Labour group leader Dimitri Batrouni was delighted with the united support for the green scheme.

He said after last Thursday’s debate, “I’m pleased my motion passed and, in fact, that its remit has increased.

“We will now look at all single-use plastic bottles. This is a step forward and more than I envisaged. As a Labour group, improving our local environment now and for future generations will always be a top priority.”

He added, “Monmouthshire is a green county. People respect and appreciate the environment.

“Anyone who walks around Monmouthshire’s coastline, even around our rivers and streams, will come across all sorts of rubbish - especially plastic bottles.

“We know they do great harm - and the Labour group believes the council should make a principled stand and encourage the use of re-useable containers.”

It’s estimated the UK uses an estimated 15 million plastic bottles a day. And in the next decade the world’s oceans could hold one kilogram of plastic for every three kilograms of fish.

• Dumping plastic bottles…MCC’s Labour group leader Dimitri Batrouni.