Plastic bags should be taxed as a way to raise money and protect the environment, according to campaigners.

Brighton and Hove City Council launched a bid to push people away from the single-use containers five years ago.

But despite there being widespread backing locally, recent national figures show the number of plastic bags handed out to shoppers by UK supermarkets has risen for the second year running.

Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas has now written to environment secretary Caroline Spelman asking her to support the Break the Bag Habit national campaign.

This campaign calls for the Government to adopt a “plastax” on every single use carrier bag used in England.

In the letter, Dr Lucas said: “As you know, similar schemes elsewhere have been hugely successful, with the 15 cents tax in Ireland, for example, resulting in a 90% drop in plastic bag usage.

“Crucially, it also raised 3.5 million Euros which was then spent on environmental projects throughout the country.

“An obligatory 10p ‘plastax’ per    bag, would be an effective way of encouraging the use of re-usable bags and ‘bags for life’.

“Such a levy would also help address some of the environmental problems caused by single use plastic bags, from the oil-based materials used in their production to the vast numbers lying as waste in open landfill sites and damaging wildlife whether they end up strewn across our towns and streets or the country- side and our green spaces.”

Supermarkets in Wales introduced a 5p charge in October with recent figures showing there had been a reduction in plastic bag use of up to 96%.

Northern Ireland is set to bring in a 5p charge in 2013 and Scotland has opened a consultation on the issue.

A spokesman for Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “We want to work with retailers to help them lift their game to cut the number of bags they hand out.

“We are monitoring the results of the charging scheme in Wales and the outcome of the Scottish consultation on a charge.”

Brighton and Hove City Council announced a plan to direct people away from using plastic bags in October 2007.

A council spokeswoman said yesterday: “We recently sold out of the Bags of Life which had been available from the Royal Pavilion Shop.

“We are currently working with Willing and Able, the council’s supported employment scheme, on producing a new bag which will go on sale shortly.”