HOSPITAL chiefs are exploring how they can cut down on plastic after it was revealed Bradford's NHS Trust purchased 27,300 plastic cups in four years.

Figure provided through a Freedom of Information request found Bradford Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust bought a total of 27,321 cups for use in its hospitals and vending machines.

A national drive to cut single use plastics was spurred on by David Attenborough's Blue Planet II documentary, which highlighted how much plastic is dumped in the World's oceans every day.

One episode of the award-winning series focused on albatross parents unwittingly feeding their chicks plastic and other dolphins potentially exposing their new-born calves to pollutants through their contaminated milk

Figures obtained by the Press Association showed that NHS trusts in England have purchased around 600 million disposable cups since 2013 – the equivalent of more than 300,000 per day.

However, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said it uses re-usable cups on the majority of its wards and is looking into cutting back its use of plastics.

A spokesman for the Trust said: "As an organisation we are committed to providing the most sustainable healthcare services possible.

"We use dishwashable cups on the majority of hospital wards in the Trust and are currently reviewing the situation with our suppliers to further reduce use of plastic cups and meet demand with more environmentally friendly solutions."

Elena Polisano, a Greenpeace UK oceans campaigner, praised the Trust for cutting back.

She said: "It's good to see this NHS trust taking steps to reduce their reliance on single-use plastic.

"Nationwide, the health service has gone through half a billion disposable cups in the last five years alone, showing our hospitals are not immune to a problem that affects the whole of our society.

"The NHS will have better reasons than most to employ single-use plastic, for example where it's crucial to hygiene, patients' comfort, or quality of care.

"But when it comes to vending machine cups, there's no doubt the NHS should explore sustainable alternatives that don't add to our growing plastic problem."