Representatives from Tesco and Co-op were among the retailers who attended a meeting at the UK headquarters of mail order firm Lands' End in Oakham on Thursday last week.

Lands' End and Rutland County Council are spearheading the project, backed by the Mercury.

The meeting included presentations by council chief executive Helen Briggs, Lands' End managing director Tim Curtis and Saya Sheridan of Inspiro bags, the Owston-based firm which makes reusable bags and recently gave away 1,000 to Mercury readers.

Mrs Briggs told retailers: "Yes, the task is enormous but every journey starts with one single step.

"It makes sense for Rutland. This county is a beautiful place to live and work. The community is very keen to sustain our environment and remain as beautiful as it can. We want to take it forward at a pace that is right."

After the meeting Mr Curtis said: "The retailers who attended were equally keen to reduce the volume of plastic bags being handed out in Rutland.

Most of those present had already taken some sort of action to address this challenge.

"Everyone agreed that there were many options available and that we needed to take into account the overall environmental impact of each."

The merits of different materials for durability, disposal, cost and practicality were discussed at the meeting.

Mr Curtis said: "Based on the feedback received, we will produce specific proposals, not only to identify the right carrier bag solution but also to help change customer behaviour, by the end of this month.

"Assuming these proposals meet with collective approval, we hope to have a sensible and effective campaign up and running by the end of May."

Lands' End is donating 10p to charity every time a customer declines a bag. The Co-op in Oakham has put single use bags out-of-sight so customers have to ask for them and Tesco offers reward points to customers who bring their own bags.

Co-op manager David Brown said: "If we can make everybody aware in Rutland, that is a starting point. People are very proud of the county and they don't want carrier bags littering up a picturesque county."

Tesco personnel manager Lynn Clague has been in touch with her head office and is arranging for someone to meet with Mrs Briggs to see how it can support the campaign.

She said: "The meeting was very important and informative.

"The key message is: We can do as much as we can in stores but sometimes it is down to education."