Plastic bag use increases for the first time in a decade

The number of plastic bags Britons are using is on the rise for the first time in a decade – and experts say online shopping is to blame. New data shows that people in England bought 437 million plastic bags in the past year, up 7 per cent from 407 million in 2023-24.

- NICOLE WOOTTON-CANE

It is the first time the number has risen since the government introduced a 5p charge for single-use plastic bags sold by large retailers in 2015. This was increased to 10p after the pandemic.

Speaking to The Times, waste charity Wrap said the rise in online shopping was primarily to blame for the surge. It said packing methods used by internet retailers frequently made use of single-use carrier bags for at-home deliveries.

Figures released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs show that the online supermarket Ocado sold 221 million plastic bags last year, the equivalent of 51 per cent of all plastic bags sold in the UK. Ocado said the rise was down to growth in its overall customer base.

The online supermarket added that it had introduced a “closed-loop system” for plastic bags, with 89 per cent of bags used being handed back and recycled.