A 10-DAY trip to Goa in India has inspired local butcher Gary Reynolds to think more about the use of plastic in his shop.

Gary has been selling meats from his shop in the high street in Llandysul for four years and could possibly be leading the way to making Llandysul a plastic-free town.

“Goa was a terrific place, unspoilt and beautiful with no rubbish to be seen until you went off the beaten track,” said Gary.

“The villagers had no rubbish collection and would throw their rubbish into rivers, over the fence or onto the side of roads. The cows, dogs and crows would then come and eat what they wanted, but the rest of the rubbish was left there to pile up.”

This made him think of the plastic problem in the world and how he could help the issue from his shop.

“Over the last few years, some of my customers bring their own re-usable containers to get their meats and recently I’ve been using paper bags where possible,” said Gary.

“Now I’m also using greaseproof paper to sell my meats rather than plastic and this helps with the litter problem we have across the world. Of course I have to use plastic for some meats such as mince, liver and joints, but everything else I’m thinking ahead and trying to use recyclable materials.”

He has also been inspired by television programmes and the whole recycling plastic issue in villages and town in the Tivyside area.

Gary added: “I enjoy watching David Attenborough programmes and seeing footage of birds, then you see animals that have been affected by our rubbish. If we can all take small, little steps, we can show the world that recycling can be done.”

Ben Woods, from the Teifiside Plastic Free Community, is supporting Gary in his new recycling scheme.

He said: “It’s great that Gary is being proactive. He’s thought of little things in his business that can really make a difference.

“He can’t do this alone and he’s really encouraging his customers to do this with him in a good way and I hope other butchers will follow in his footsteps.”