A KNUTSFORD shopper who, like many of us, is guilty of stockpiling plastic bags, is leading a call for the town’s supermarkets to come together and find a solution.

Emma Moore, who runs community directory KnutsfordHub.co.uk, wants Aldi, Booths, Co-op, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose to help residents get rid of surplus bags.

Her ‘Bag a Bag’ campaign urges the stores to provide a place for shoppers to donate their unnecessary plastic collections for reuse by customers, reducing the need for new bags each trip.

Reaching out to the shops, she hopes one will take the lead and encourage others to follow suit.

“I do think that supermarkets are on a bit of a mission to reduce plastic, because it’s so current and topical,” Emma said. “I think it’s a win-win.

“I have got hundreds of bags at home, and everyone I have spoken to is the same.

“It’s so easy to forget to take one with you to the shops and then you are having to take home a new one – it just doesn’t make any sense.

“If we can keep the ones currently in Knutsford here for their lifetime, then that’s great.”

Emma raised the issue in a blog post online, and says people have been in touch to express their support for the idea.

The Guardian last week launched a ‘say no to plastic’ campaign, urging our readers to think more responsibly about their impact on the environment. Plastic bags can take decades to decompose.

Emma, who wants fellow shoppers to suggest the idea to managers whenever they make a trip for groceries, wrote online: “Would it be possible for each of our five supermarket chain shops in Knutsford to keep a bucket of donated plastic bags for re-use at each till or at the door?

“I’m sure this is not a new idea, there will be other shops and possibly towns doing this. But in doing so here we could turn a small difference into a big win for the environment.”