The number of plastic bags washing up on UK shores has fallen by 80% in 10 years since a mandatory fee was introduced for shoppers who choose to receive single-use plastic bags at the checkout.
According to the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) annual litter survey, volunteers surveyed coastlines last year and found an average of one plastic bag every 100 metres, compared to an average of five bags per 100 metres in 2014.
The charity, which has been monitoring litter on beaches for the past 30 years, said the drop in litter was undoubtedly due to the introduction of a mandatory charge of 25p instead of 5p on single-use plastic bags.
“It’s great to see policies on single-use plastics like plastic bags working,” said Lizzy Price, MCS’s Beach Watch program manager.
Large retailers in Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England are required to charge for single-use plastic bags under laws introduced in 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively. It was increased from 5p to 10p. The minimum charge will rise to 5p in England and Scotland in 2021, and to 25p in Northern Ireland. Wales will keep the minimum charge at 5p but has announced it will ban plastic bags altogether by 2026.
Price called on the UK’s devolved governments to take steps such as pushing ahead with policies to charge, ban or reduce single-use items, and speeding up the introduction of a deposit scheme for plastic bottles, cans and glass. The four UK nations have been working together to agree a joint approach to the scheme, which has now been delayed until 2027.
“We need to move more quickly toward a repair, reuse and recycle society,” Price said.
According to the charity, the number of plastic bags found along beaches began to fall dramatically across the UK in 2015. In Scotland, the number fell from an average of 11 bags per 100 metres in 2014 to just six in 2015, a year after the charge was introduced.
The MCS 2023 Beach Litter Report, which included 1,199 separate surveys, found that 97% of beaches were littered with beverage-related litter such as bottles and cans, and 4,684 plastic bags were found.
The association’s beach clean-ups take place throughout the year, but a third of its data is collected during its Great British Beach Clean event. Last year, thousands of volunteers found that drinking-related litter was up 14% in Scotland and 7% in England compared to 2022. Overall, there was a 1.2% increase in plastic litter across the UK, to an average of 167 pieces per 100 metres.
The five most common items found were plastic pieces measuring between 2.5 and 30cm, potato chip and sandwich wrappers, caps and lids, plastic strings and cords, and plastic bottles and containers.
Pick up trash 100 times or more Organised for this year’s Great British Beach CleanThe event will take place from 20th to 29th September along the coast from Bude in Cornwall to Akerness in Orkney.
