Defra hails 98 per cent drop in single-use plastic bag sales since charge introduced

Michael Holder
clock • 4 min read
Credit: iStock
Image:

Credit: iStock

Introduction of 5p plastic bag charge in 2014 has helped avoid seven billion carrier bags from going to waste, according to new data from Defra

The number of single-use plastic bags sold by leading retailers in England has plummeted by more than 98 per cent since the introduction of a customer charge in 2015, with the average shopper now buying...

To continue reading this article...

Join BusinessGreen

In just a few clicks you can start your free BusinessGreen Lite membership for 12 months, providing you access to:

  • Three complimentary articles per month covering the latest real-time news, analysis, and opinion from Europe’s leading source of information on the Green economy and business
  • Receive important and breaking news stories via our daily news alert
  • Our weekly newsletter with the best of the week’s green business news and analysis

Join now

 

Already a BusinessGreen member?

Login

Michael Holder
Author spotlight

Michael Holder

Editor

View profile
More from Michael Holder

Survey: Over a quarter of UK firms seeing green skills gap in UK job market

'Strategic advancement for the UK': £30m lithium chloride factory opens in Basingstoke

More on Taxation

'No winners in a trade war': Green industries brace for Trump tariff impact
Taxation

'No winners in a trade war': Green industries brace for Trump tariff impact

UK faces 10 per cent tariff on all exports to the US, as EU gets hit with 20 per cent levy and China faces 54 per cent charge

James Murray
James Murray
clock 03 April 2025 • 8 min read
Cutting clean investment in the Spring Statement would be bad economics and poor politics
Taxation

Cutting clean investment in the Spring Statement would be bad economics and poor politics

The Spring Statement and upcoming Spending Review cannot afford to de-prioritise investment in the clean transition, as it is crucial for the government's growth mission, writes Esin Serin from LSE's Grantham Institute on Climate Change and the Environment...

Esin Serin, LSE's Grantham Institute on Climate Change and the Environment
clock 24 March 2025 • 5 min read
The EU carbon border levy has gaps - a 'climate contribution' policy could fill them
Taxation

The EU carbon border levy has gaps - a 'climate contribution' policy could fill them

The proposed two-year CBAM delay underscores the urgent need for a bridging policy instrument, writes Misato Sato from LSE's Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment

Misato Sato, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment
clock 12 February 2025 • 4 min read