CAERPHILLY council could agree to reduce its use of plastic cups, plates, cutlery and other items following pressure from Plaid Cymru councillors.

A motion from the party’s group leader on the council, Councillor Colin Mann, will be tabled at a full council meeting.

Cllr Mann had raised the issue in August after revealing that the authority had ordered 102,800 single-use plastic items over a four-month period.

Figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request also revealed that 25,000 plastic cups had been ordered for water dispensers at Penallta House in the last three years.

The motion notes the global impact of plastic pollution and asks the council to note the “huge amount” of plastic items being ordered.

It also calls for the council to phase out plastics and replace them with a sustainable alternative within five years.

The council has since formed a ‘Plastics Challenge’ project group with representation from Welsh Government, Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP Cymru) and Eunomia Research.

A report says the group are currently analysing data and products relating to the use of single-use items within its catering service.

“The aim will be to reduce the use of single use plastic and optimise the recycling, treatment recovery and reprocessing of such materials, in essence ‘managing plastics more sustainably’,” the report says.

“This process will include supply chain engagement, prioritisation: quick wins and medium to long term objectives via action plans. “This approach can also be adopted and rolled out to other commodities in the future.”

According to the report, the council operates a ‘statutory cleansing service’ which clears more than 1,000 tonnes of platics every year.

The kerbside recycling service collects and reprocesses more than 20,000 tonnes of waste – 60 per cent of which is plastic.

The environment is one of several themes listed within the council’s newly adopted procurement strategy, which will run until 2023.

The report says: “The council will recognise environmental issues and address them through the procurement process and procedures. “We will strive to develop the procurement function in a way that balances economic and social values in equal measure, embracing sustainable development and putting the Well-being and Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 at the heart of all procurement decisions.”

The motion, which has been supported by Plaid Cymru councillors Teresa Harry, John Roberts and Jon Scriven, will be debated on October 9.