Use of plastic bags in England drops by 59% in a year

Single-use carrier bag sales drop by 95% since 5p charge introduced in 2015

People in England have continued to use fewer plastic bags since the 5p charge was introduced in 2015 (Getty Images)

Sales of single use plastic carrier bags in England have fallen by 59 per cent in the last 12 months, the latest figures have revealed.

The main retailers – including Asda, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, The Co-operative Group, Tesco and Waitrose – who collectively account for over half of total plastic carrier bag sales, reported a drop of 95 per cent since the government introduced the 5p charge in 2015.

This represents a decrease of 322 million bags from 2019 to 2020. While all of the main retailers saw a reduction, Asda and Tesco saw the biggest drops of 86.8 million (81 per cent) and 79.6 million (65 per cent) respectively.