The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has released new figures showing that its single-use carrier bag charge has cut usage by 97 per cent across the UK’s major retailers.
The 5p charge for single-use plastic bags was introduced in supermarkets in 2015, with this increasing to 10p and being extended to all businesses last year. This change was originally announced in September 2020, as part of the Government’s ‘war on plastic waste.’
According to Defra, the 10p levy has decreased the usage of plastic bags by 20 per cent from 627 million in 2019/20 to 496 million in 2021/22. Statistics from the department also suggest that the charge has led to the average person buying around three single-use carrier bags a year from major retailers, compared to 2014’s figure of 140 per person.
Retailers have made more than £200 million in charitable donations as a result of the charge, Defra’s research reveals. In 2021/22, retailers donated £10 million to ‘good causes in education, arts, heritage, sports, environment, health, charity or volunteering sectors, or causes chosen by customers and staff’.
Defra also found that the number of single-use carrier bags reported by the UK’s main retailers was 197 million in 2021/22, down from 271 million in 2019/2020 – a reduction of 27 per cent. In 2014, before the charge was introduced, 7.6 billion were used.
In 2019, the charge saw sales of single-use plastic bags down 90 per cent. Defra reported that the most significant reductions came from Tesco and Morrisons, reducing their plastic bag sales by 63 per cent and 64 per cent respectively.
Steve Double, Environment Minister, said: “Our plastic bag charge has ended the sale of billions of single-use bags, protecting our landscapes and ensuring millions of pounds are redistributed to worthy causes.
“There is much more to do to tackle the problem of plastic waste. That is why we are building on our single-use plastic bans and introducing the deposit return scheme for bottles to fight back against littering and drive up recycling rates.”
Adam Herriot, Sector Specialist, Resource Management, WRAP added: “Flexibles remain one of the most common plastics in our bins, but just like pots tubs and trays we’re now at a point where the tide is turning on flexible plastics.
“Today, nearly 5,000 stores nationwide have front-of-store collections where people can drop off their unusable bags once they reach their end of life.
“So not only do we have less single-use shopping bags to worry about, we have somewhere convenient to put them when we go shopping to make sure they are recycled.”
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How will the government and DMOs address the challenges of including glass in DRS while ensuring a level playing field across the UK?
There's no easy solution to include glass in the DRS while maintaining a level playing field. Potential approaches include a phased introduction of glass, potentially with higher deposits to reflect its logistical challenges. The government and DMOs could incentivise innovation in glass packaging design and subsidise dedicated return points for glass-handling. Exemptions for smaller businesses unable to handle glass might also be necessary. Any successful solution will likely blend several approaches. It must address the differing priorities of devolved administrations, balance environmental benefits with logistical and cost implications, and be supported by robust consumer education campaigns emphasizing the importance of glass recycling.