Plastic Bags: Fees and Charges
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the plastic bag levy at lowering use; and whether she plans to introduce further measures to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags.
Answered by Mary Creagh
The Government’s assessment is that the single-use carrier bag charge has been highly effective in reducing the use of single-use plastic bags in England. Since the charge was introduced in 2015, sales of single-use plastic carrier bags sold by the main supermarket retailers have fallen by almost 98%, a reduction from 7.6 billion bags in 2014 to 164 million in 2024/25.
The charge has also helped reduce the littering of plastic bags. Reports from the Marine Conservation Society indicate a fall from an average of 13 bags found on beaches in 2013 to just 3 in 2021.
In May 2021, the Government increased the minimum charge from 5p to 10p and extended it to all retailers to reinforce this progress and create a level playing field across the sector.
The Government remains committed to moving to a circular economy for plastics and will continue to take a systematic, evidence-based approach to reducing unnecessary single-use plastics and encouraging reuse solutions. We will continue to review the latest evidence on single-use plastic carrier bags.
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