Plastic bag charge cuts usage by fifth since 2019

Charging shoppers for single-use plastic carrier bags has cut usage in England by more than 20 per cent since 2019, according to official figures.

The charge, raised from 5p to 10p in May 2021, requires all businesses to charge customers for the bags.

According to the data published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the total number of bags used was down from 627 million in 2019 and 2020 to

496 million in 2021 and this year.

The figures also showed that the average person in England now buys around three bags each year from the main supermarkets, compared with around 140 in 2014.