Plastic Bag Sales Have Risen in England
According to DEFRA numbers for plastic carrier bag sales have risen by 7% in the 2024/25 financial year, despite the carrier bag charge which was introduced in 2014. This represents a total of 437 million plastic carrier bags being sold by the 102 retailers in England in the past year!
Much of this plastic is considered difficult to recycle and can be sent for incineration or landfill. David Gudgeon, Head of External Affairs and Reconomy Connect, emphasises that “the UK is too reliant on the extraction of virgin plastic” and that “material extraction is driving unsustainable levels of greenhouse gas emissions, and the UK is consuming virgin resources faster than the world can regenerate them.”
Despite the 7% rise, current levels of plastic bag sales are still significantly lower compared to the 2016/17 percentages that represent a 79% reduction. Yet, these figures are still an important warning showcasing that there is a still a long path ahead before the UK is to reach a full circular economy. Gudgeon suggests that “greater effort must be made to drive behavioural change and help businesses close circularity gaps”. Perhaps retailers could follow the example of Tesco and Waitrose who have stopped the sale of single-use plastic bags since 2022-23.