At a time when Malvern and Upton-upon-Severn are aspiring to be plastic bag free towns, Gazette readers may be interested to know that Rwanda has become a plastic-bag-free country. Is this a first in the world?

Several years ago, President Paul Kigame and the Parliament decided to outlaw plastic bags, and now everything is packed into brown paper bags or simply wrapped in old newspapers.

The plastic bag ban was imposed because of non-biodegradeable litter and the impact on Rwanda's wonderful birds and wildlife.

A visitor to the country cannot help but be struck by how clean and tidy the country is. The streets are swept, the toilets are bleached, even in the poorest villages the men and women manage to look clean and elegant, despite a walk of several kilometres to the nearest water along dusty roads.

Every last Saturday in the month is national litter-pick day, when communities come together to work on a local beautification project. After this there is a community discussion about a topic of interest - last month it was family planning. This is a very important subject in a country where each woman has an average of six children.

Recycling takes place at every level. Today I went shopping for 'outfits' with a Rwandan friend. Rather than buying new clothes or shoes, we went to the main clothes market where everything was second-, or maybe third-hand. Wedding dresses are available for hire by the day.

What with Rwanda having almost 50 per cent female MPs in its Parliament, there's perhaps quite a bit Britain can learn from Rwanda, as well as the other way round!