A LINCOLNSHIRE plastics firm is urging retailers and businesses to go green after a survey showed Britons use 160 new carrier bags each every year.

CFN Packaging, based in Heath Road Industrial Estate, Skegness has developed Biothene, a revolutionary oxo-degradable polythene which starts to degrade upon exposure to sunlight.

The process is accelerated by heat and once the material has been broken down into small particles these degrade into a non-toxic residue within 12 to 18 months.

Last year almost 10 billion carrier bags were given away free to shoppers and take hundreds of years to degrade.

CFN's environmentally friendly plastic products are proving popular. They have been producing Biothene for six years and already accounts for 40 per cent of the carrier bags produced by CFN Packaging and that figure is growing all the time.

Sales increased by 250 per cent in 2008 when the company sold more than 10 million bags.

CFN Director Jayson Clark said: "Environmental issues are now at the top of everyone's agenda and our new degradable Biothene product will make a significant contribution to helping us to live more sustainably.

"Many people will be happy to do without carrier bags completely, but for those who do need to use a bag Biothene is a great degradable alternative.

"A sturdy carrier bag which can be re-used several times before degrading harmlessly is much better for the environment than a cheap plastic bag which stays in the environment for hundreds of years."

A survey of 2,500 shoppers reported in the Daily Telegraph earlier this month found that on average people use more than 160 new carrier bags each every year – that's at least 400 per year for the average household.

Last year, 9.9 billion carrier bags were distributed – enough to fill 188 Olympic swimming pools.

CFN Packaging employs 65 people and specialises in printed plastic carrier bags and in plastic packaging for produce for the food and retail market.

The company has recently invested £1 million in two polythene extruders and a new recycler and plans to spend £250,000 on remodelling its premises.