ABERGAVENNY and Crickhowell are spearheading a drive to become environmental champions this week as they aim to strike a blow against wasteful and polluting packaging.

In Crickhowell, leading businesses have moved to reduce their use of single-use plastic products with The Bear Hotel auditing its entire operation to see what plastics could be done away with after last week ditching the use of plastic straws.

The Bear joins The Horseshoe Inn, Llangattock who recently announced they would only use compostable environment and animal friendly straws. Book-ish bookshop have also said they would give 50p off a cup of coffee if customers brought their own cups and are examining their own use of straws and plastic packaging.

Other shops in town already use compostable bags for their goods and on March 3rd, Wales’ first zero waste shop, Natural Weigh, will open its doors in the converted Corn Exchange pub for an entirely plastic-free shopping experience.

Meanwhile in Abergavenny, a popular chip shop has responded to the challenge by making its customers an offer they can’t refuse. The Codfather, on Frogmore Street, has rubbed out polystyrene containers and all single-use plastics in favour of cardboard boxes and wooden forks.

The move comes as Monmouthshire County Council begin contacting local food takeaway businesses urging them to make a similar switch.

Codfather owner, Andrew Ewers said, ‘From the beginning, my wife and I have always made sure that we do our best to recycle as much as possible. And now we have switched to cardboard chip trays and wooden forks instead of polystyrene and plastic.

‘Wherever possible, we are looking to use less of the stuff that can’t be recycled, both in the Codfather and Frydays - our shop on Underhill Crescent. We have very loyal customers and the response from them has been overwhelmingly positive.

‘The fish on which we depend can only thrive in plastic-free oceans - that’s why we are keen to play our part in this initiative. It’s good for business and good for the planet.’

Echoing the sentiment of protecting the environment, The Bear’s co-owner, Steve Hindmarsh said, ‘Crickhowell is a beautiful place and we want to join with others to help keep it that way.

‘Obviously, plastics are very much part of every modern business and they won’t be easy to do away with completely until good, economical alternatives come forward.

“But we now use paper straws and paper bags for packed lunches and we are looking for alternatives for, for instance, the plastic bags which go in the bins in every bedroom.’

Chloe Masefield of Natural Weigh added, ‘Our zero waste shop is opening at a really exciting time when everyone is looking to tackle the problem of plastic pollution.

“Once we are up and running we want to explore the possibility of working with others to win plastic free status for Crickhowell.

‘To do that, businesses need to remove entirely three or more single-use plastic products, replacing these with sustainable alternatives.

“These can include, for instance, encouraging shoppers to bring their own containers – like we will – to giving them wooden forks instead of plastic ones with their takeaways.

“We think businesses will be surprised by how much they save in costs as well as dramatically reducing waste.’

Carl Touhig, Monmouthshire’s interim head of waste said, ‘Councils continue to be under enormous financial pressure to deliver services for our residents.

“It’s far better that our limited resources are spent on education and social care than picking up the cost of unnecessary roadside litter and non-recyclable packaging waste.

‘Over the coming months we will write to all food take-away outlets, asking them to consider reducing their amount of plastic and polystyrene packaging.

‘From our conversations with residents and local community groups, we know that this issue is very close to their hearts and we are confident that Monmouthshire’s businesses will take up the challenge to reduce, re-use and recycle.’