It is a tiny coastal village, with little more than 1,000 residents.
But Aberporth on the west coast of Wales has charged to the forefront of the battle to halt Britain’s excessive plastic use.
Dismayed at the sight of endless carrier bags, bottles and coffee cups that have washed up on its picturesque beaches, villagers have set up a ‘plastic- free’ committee and have vowed to turn back the tide.
Its village pub, The Ship Inn, has been persuaded to stop using plastic straws, and the local shop has agreed to go back to selling milk in glass bottles rather than plastic ones.
The Plastic Free Aberporth campaign has been spearheaded by Gail Tudor and Gilly Llewelyn, who hope that other businesses will follow the pub, the shop and the primary school in signing up.
Picturesque: The stunning beaches in Aberporth are often blighted by the plastic rubbish washed up from the Irish Sea
It comes after the Daily Mail launched its Turn The Tide On Plastic campaign to reduce the damage being done to the British coastline and wildlife, and to the world’s oceans.
Mrs Tudor, 55, said: ‘We are not going to get rid of plastic altogether — it does have some uses — but what we are looking to do is get rid of single-use plastic such as straws and coffee cups.
‘This is about individuals looking at their lives to see what they can change, and then businesses and the local community and government seeing what can be done at that level.’
The film-maker founded the movement after a ten-day trip trawling for plastic along the British coastline. She told The Times: ‘I live by the sea and I want to protect the sea and keep it clean and protect the wildlife. It was obvious to see how much plastic was in the sea and on the beaches, and when this breaks down into microfibres it can get into our food chain.’
Oliver Box, 42, of The Ship Inn, said using paper straws instead of plastic ones would cost ten times as much, but the pub had put a jar on the bar for customers to contribute to the cause.
He added: ‘We need the financial support of the local community to support the campaign to banish plastic from the village.’
The Plastic Free Aberporth campaign has been spearheaded by Gail Tudor (pictured) and Gilly Llewelyn
The publican added that he was appalled by the amount of waste on coastal paths in Cardigan Bay, especially during the summer, when the population increases fivefold.
He takes his children Finley, ten, and Florence, six, along the bay to pick up rubbish, and believes the campaign has already made a huge impact.
‘The number of people I see walking the beach with binliners, picking up plastic rubbish from the sea, has really increased,’ he said. ‘The campaign can only be a good thing if it gets people thinking about their environment.’
Mike Allen, 49, owner of London House stores, has begun to sell milk in glass bottles – despite the extra 25p cost.
I am proud of what we are doing
‘I am proud of what we are doing,’ he said. ‘This will put our name on the environmental map.’
However, not everyone in the village believes the scheme can have much of an impact.
Fisherman Gary Matthewson, 46, sad: ‘It’s like putting a sticking plaster on a bleeding jugular vein. It’s hopeless.
‘I have seen the harm that plastic does in the seas and the amount of it clogging up lobster and prawn pots.’