MORE than 7,000 plastic carrier bags have been saved from landfill in the last year thanks to Devon Libraries 'Book Bag for Life' campaign.

The Library Service is celebrating a successful first anniversary of the jute book bag with sales of 7,224 since August 1, 2007.

As part of the county council's Make Devon Greener initiative to promote the environment, reduce waste and increase recycling rates in the county, staff no longer hand out new plastic bags to customers but encourage them to upgrade to the new environmentally friendly bag or re-use their old plastic ones.

Executive member for Culture, Councillor Sheila Hobden said: “This is a fantastic first year for the book bag campaign.

“Our statistics show that the average person in Devon visits the library five times a year. If everyone who purchased one used it just to carry their books to and from the library each time, that could be as many as 35,000 plastic bags saved.

“On behalf of the library service, I would like to thank everyone who has purchased a book bag so far and encourage all other visitors to think about investing in one.”

The jute book bags are available from all Devon libraries and cost £2.The scheme is supported by the 'Don't let Devon go to waste' partnership which teamed up with library staff in 2007 to find a practical and lasting alternative to plastic bags.

Further information on waste reduction, composting or recycling can be found at www.recycledevon.org or by calling 0845 450 2477.