Environmental campaigners are calling for compulsory restrictions on single-use plastic carrier bags.

Environmental campaigners are calling for a new compulsory restriction to be placed on single-use plastic carrier bags.

The Dorset branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) is leading this bid in the south-west area as it aims to urge the government to introduce a levy on retailers to reduce litter and waste.

This is all part of the national Break the Bag Habit which aims to encourage sustainable shopping and the switching from plastic carrier bags to biodegradable paper bags.

Elsewhere in the country CPRE is joined nationally by Keep Britain Tidy, the Marine Conservation Society and Surfers Against Sewage.

Commenting on the need to take action, CPRE Dorset director Trevor Bevins told the Dorset Echo: "Over the past two years, the number of carrier bags used in England has increased despite repeated government calls for reducers to reduce the number they give out."

"Last year businesses in the UK issued plastic bags at a rate of 254 a second. A total of eight billion 'thin-gauge' plastic bags were issued during 2011 - a 5.4 per cent increase on the 7.6 billion bags used in 2012," he went on to complain.

The group of non-government, environmental organisations is hoping that Britain can get up to speed with similar strategies for plastic bag levying.

It's not just these groups who are hammering home the issue as last year Prime Minister David Cameron spoke out about the need for retailers to continue the impacts of their business strategies on the environment.

In 2011 he said: "Retailers need to do better. I want to see significant falls again. I know that retailers want to do better too but if they don't I will be asking them to explain why not."

Retailers could instead switch to paper bags for a more environmentally-friendly option as unlike plastic, the material can later be recycled by the customer.