The City of London could become Britain's first plastic bag free city, under plans published today by Boris Johnson Mayor of London, to reduce litter and landfill waste.

Mr Johnson will explore measures for reducing plastic carrier bag consumption which include charging schemes. Shoppers will therefore be encourage to bring their own reusable bags and supermarkets may be forced to charge for single use bags.

The Mayor of London believes that Britain will rapidly reduce the 13 billion plastic bags issued to shoppers each year and today his aim is to achieve a massive reduction before the Olympics in 2012.