NORTH-EAST shoppers could become the first in the country to pay a tax on plastic carrier bags as part of a scheme to help the environment.

Durham County Council is asking people whether a cash levy on bags should be introduced to encourage shoppers to reuse them.

If shoppers are overwhelmingly in favour, the authority will offer itself as a guinea pig to the Government to pioneer the scheme.

A 10p levy on plastic bags was introduced in Ireland earlier this year and within four months, carrier bag usage had fallen by 90 per cent and almost £6m had been raised to pay for environmental improvements.

Durham council says a similar scheme here would reduce the millions of plastic bags which are dumped in the county every year and save taxpayers thousands of pounds. The council wants readers of The Northern Echo to take part in a telephone poll on the proposal.

Scrutiny committee chairman Councillor Joe Armstrong said: "The idea of a plastic bag levy may not be to everyone's liking initially, but if people stop to think about it they will realise it is a sensible and responsible move to make.

"The benefits will be quick to appear and long-lasting and we would like to know what people think.

"If there is a consensus of opinion in favour, and it was going to be introduced, we would be happy to be used to pilot the scheme."

Almost 65 millon plastic bags, weighing 650 tonnes, are estimated to be thrown away in County Durham each year, with many littering the countryside and most ending up in landfill sites, where they take hundreds of years to degrade.

Coun Armstrong said dumping the bags in landfill sites costs about £20,000 a year in landfill tax. Any money raised from a levy would be used for environmental schemes, possibly chosen by local people.

"We've all seen discarded plastic carrier bags stuck in trees and hedges, railing and fences and floating down rivers and streams and even blowing around in mid air during windy days," he said.

"But the hidden cost to the environment is even greater. If people were to reuse plastic shopping bags instead of picking up new ones every time they visit the supermarket, they could reduce consumption and waste."

The Government is already considering introducing the tax scheme. "A report is being produced and it certainly hasn't been ruled out," said an environment department spokeswoman.

UK carrier bag makers have set up a group - the Carrier Bags Consortium - to oppose any such scheme.

A spokesman said: "A carrier bag tax could have a seriously negative effect on the environment by encouraging the use of other less environmentally acceptable alternatives and by increasing the purchase of plastics bags, such as bin liners."

A spokesman for Friends of the Earth said the North-East had the worst record in the country for recycling household waste, and a carrier bag tax would be a "drop in the ocean".

"Ultimately we need to reduce waste as a whole and we think every household should be provided with a doorstep recycling service," he said.

Bags by the billion

* Plastic bags sent to landfill take about 500 years to decay.

* The UK uses 500 million plastic bags each week.

* Before carrier bags in Ireland were taxed, an estimated 1.2bn were handed out to shoppers free each year.

* Any tax in this country would be imposed on the supermarkets, which would then charge customers. Free plastic bags cost supermarkets an estimated £1bn a year.