District councils have pledged to continue to reduce plastic use after it was revealed thousands of disposable plastic cups are bought by Bucks authorities each year.

Shocking figures unearthed by the Bucks Free Press show at least 140,000 plastic cups were purchased by Wycombe, South Bucks and Chiltern councils from 2013 to 2017.

Chiltern District Council (CDC) appears to be the worst culprit, purchasing a staggering 24,000 plastic cups per year since 2013, while Wycombe District (WDC) bought 5,920 last year alone.

However South Bucks District Council’s (SBDC) plastic use seems to be minimal compared to its neighbouring authorities, with just 200 plastic cups bought last year.

Bucks County Council was also contacted for the same information, however it was unable to provide the data.

The nation’s overuse of disposable plastic is having a devastating impact on the environment, with Sir David Attenborough making a powerful call to the nation to do more to save the oceans in his world-renowned documentary Blue Planet II.

Spokesman for CDC and SBDC, Connie Primmer, said the councils are working to reduce plastic consumption in a number of ways, including encouraging staff to go paperless and eliminating the use of plastic cutlery and straws.

She said: “We are working to reduce our use of plastic cups at the councils and we are currently discussing plans to provide alternatives, both for our staff and for members of the public who visit the council offices and may need a glass of water.

“Reducing plastic cup use is just one of the things we can all do to protect the environment from the devastating damage caused by the millions of tonnes of plastic we produce each year.

“At the councils, we don’t have plastic cutlery or straws, we encourage staff to ‘go paperless’ and we have recycling bins on site.”

CDC is also promoting the Great Plastic Pickup 2018 – which encourages people to organise litter picks across the country.

Spokesman for WDC, Shauna Hichens, said the council has reduced its use of plastic cups by a third over the last three years, and has asked suppliers to provide alternative options for water-coolers.

Staff and councillors are also encouraged to use reusable cups and recycling bins are available across council sites.

Anyone interested in organising a litter pick is asked to contact CDC's Waste and Recycling Team.