Carrier bags

From April 2021, the 5p charge for carrier bags in England doubles to 10p and will apply to all shops. Currently shops that employ fewer than 250 people are exempt. Other parts of the UK already charge 5p in shops of any size. The charge is not a tax as the retailer may keep the proceeds though most donate the proceeds to charity.

The introduction of the charge has led to a 95% reduction in single use carrier bags. Some supermarkets have stopped providing them completely. The average person in England now buys just 4 bags a year from supermarkets, compared to 140 in 2014.

The charge has seen the number of single use carrier bags fall from 7.6 billion bags from the seven biggest supermarkets in 2014 to just over 1.4 billion in 2019/20. Small shops in England give away 3.6 billion bags a year. [20.08/26,2]