CALLS have been made for Monmouthshire County Council “to get its own house in order” after committing to becoming a “plastic-free” authority.

The council will begin working towards reducing the use of single-use plastics in the county after councillors backed proposals on Thursday.

Community groups in Abergavenny, Chepstow, Monmouth and Usk are already working towards plastic-free town status in line with the Plastic Free Coastline campaign run by Surfers Against Sewage.

But Independent councillor Debby Blakebrough claimed the council’s current recycling strategy was “counterintuitive” to the campaign’s aspirations.

“Any recycling contract that encourages the use of plastic bags instead of environmental starch bags is complete bonkers,” said Cllr Blakebrough.

The meeting heard that the company responsible for the disposal of Monmouthshire’s food waste preferred the use of plastic bags over compostable bags.

Head of operations Roger Hoggins stressed that the contract, which is shared with Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent, allowed the council to require the firm to accept eco-friendly bags.

But Cllr Blakebrough said: “If we take this [contract] on with plastic bags, I think we’re taking a backwards step.

“This plastic free policy is worthless if it doesn’t really change our thinking and our behaviour, and that includes our procurement decisions.”

Other concerns were raised by Independent councillor Simon Howarth, who lamented the stocking of plastic bottles in leisure centre vending machines across Monmouthshire.

“The kids take hundreds of bottles out of those machines every week, because we make a lot of money from it,” he said.

“We have a policy in this council about healthy eating. You go in our vending machines – full of chocolate.

“They weren’t before but they’ve gone back, why? Because we’re making money from it and it balances the books.

“Let’s get our own house in order, we cut and cut and cut for very little.”

The leader of the Labour group, Councillor Dimitri Batrouni, said the move was “better now than never” having proposed a motion urging the council to discourage the sale of single-use plastics in July 2015.

“We were told no by the administration because the selling of single-use plastics produced an income that would enable to keep frontline services ongoing,” he said.

Council leader Councillor Peter Fox replied: “I can’t remember the rationale, and it’s easy to take it out of context what was said, but it was probably sensible.

“It was probably because, as per usual, not much information came forward. It was knee-jerk and trying to grab a headline.

“But we all do mature and move forward and it’s great that the country is starting to recognise the issue around single-use plastics.”