The Independent funds on-the-ground journalism on issues like reproductive rights, climate change and Big Tech through reader donations. The outlet remains free and avoids paywalls, asking those who can afford it to support quality reporting. Plastic bag use in England rose for the first time in a decade to 437 million bags, a seven per cent increase from 407 million in 2023/24. Wrap blames online shopping and delivery packaging for the rise; Defra data show Ocado sold 221 million bags, about 51 per cent of the total, and reported 89 per cent of bags were handed back in a closed-loop system.
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The number of plastic bags Brits are using is on the rise for the first time in a decade - and experts say online shopping is to blame. New data shows England bought 437 million plastic bags in the last year, up seven per cent from 407 million in 2023/24. It is the first time the number has risen since the government introduced a 5p charge on each single-use plastic bag sold by large retailers in 2015.
Figures released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) show online supermarket Ocado sold 221 million plastic bags last year, the equivalent of 51 per cent of all sold in the UK. They said the rise was down to growth in their overall customer base. The online supermarket added they introduced a closed-loop system for plastic bags, with 89 per cent of bags used being handed back and re
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