The number of sales of single-use plastic bags from the main UK supermarkets is down 90% over the last decade, according to the latest data from the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra).
In the last year, the total number of single-use plastic bags sold by the main seven retailers in England providing data – Asda, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, The Co-operative Group and Waitrose – was 126 million. That is down 23% since 2024-2025 and down 90% since 2016-2017.
Defra said this is equivalent to around two single-use plastic bags per person sold by the main retailers in the period 2025 to 2026. Tesco and Waitrose have reported they did not sell any single-use plastic carrier bags from the 2022-2023 onwards, while M&S and Sainsbury’s reported they did not sell any in the 2025-2026 period.
Of course, these results do not include so-called ‘bags for life’, which retailers sell at a premium with the view they are kept by customers and reused over and over again. There is no data to suggest how often this packaging is used by those who purchase them.
Although, this data is encouraging in how it shows the impact of the initial 5p charge on plastic bag usage, which was introduced in October 2015, before increasing to 10p in May 2021, Defra’s figures do show the total number of single-use plastic bags sold by the 94 retailers in England who reported data for the period still stood at 399 million.
That figure is down by 9% since the 2024-2025 reporting period and down 81% since 2016-2017, which was the first full year of reporting after the single-use plastic carrier bag charge was introduced. Defra said this is an annual equivalent of around seven single-use plastic bags per person sold by all retailers who reported data for the most recent reporting year.
Non-governmental organisation Wrap has previously reported that the main retailers in England issued 7.6 billion single-use carrier bags in the calendar year 2014, so the levy on plastic bags has contributed to a reduction in their distribution.
Defra’s figures show Asda, Morrisons and The Co-operative Group together sold 126 million single-use plastic carrier bags in England in 2025 to 2026, a 23% decrease on the 164 million sold in the previous reporting year. These three retailers account for around 32% of the total bags sold by all retailers reporting data, Defra said.
From 2025 to 2026, 32% of retailers – accounting for 91% of all bag sales reported for this period – voluntarily provided additional information on how they chose to donate proceeds from the carrier bag charge. In total, these retailers donated £8.7 million to good causes, according to Defra.
The total amount donated to good causes from proceeds of the single-use carrier bag charge – and reported to Defra – since its introduction in 2015 is now over £234 million. The true total is likely to be higher than this as not all retailers choose to voluntarily report donation figures.
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