Villagers will show their green credentials by saying no to plastic bags today. For one day only green-thinking shop keepers in Hethersett will refuse to give out the non-environmentally friendly carriers in the hope of persuading people to use re-useable ones.

Villagers will show their green credentials by saying no to plastic bags today.

For one day only green-thinking shop keepers in Hethersett will refuse to give out the non-environmentally friendly carriers in the hope of persuading people to use re-useable ones.

The initiative has come as part of a series of environmentally-friendly awareness measures introduced by the Hethersett Environment Action Team (HEAT).

Earlier this year, the group distributed eco-friendly cloth bags to all the houses in the village and, in the run-up to tomorrow's event, posters have been displayed around Hethersett to warn shoppers about the day.

George Beckford, chairman of the group, said: “Lots of people are listening, there's no doubt about that, and I'm hoping our cloth bags are making an impression on reducing our carbon footprint.”

At the start of this year, the group launched its Hethersett A Green Village 2008 campaign to help reduce pollution and make the village greener.

Next week, they will have a display at the county's annual waste reduction conference 'The future of waste in Norfolk, food for thought' at the John Innes Centre, Norwich, next Thursday.