A plastic bag on Marsden Beach, South Shields, England. Craig A. Rodway via Flickr
A survey of litter on British beaches has found an 80 percent drop in plastic bags over the last decade, which advocates say was brought about by a small charge added to disposable bags.
The survey, undertaken by the Marine Conservation Society, found just one plastic bag, on average, for every 100 meters of coastline, down from five plastic bags in 2014. It was roughly a decade ago that governments began requiring retailers to charge consumers for single-use plastic bags.
Charges were introduced in Wales in 2011, followed by Northern Ireland in 2023, Scotland in 2014, and England in 2015. The price per bag currently stands at 25 pence in Northern Ireland, 10 pence in England and Scotland, and 5 pence in Wales, which plans to end the sale of plastic bags entirely in 2026.
“It is brilliant to see policies on single-use plastics such as carrier bags working,” said Lizzie Price, of the Marine Conservation Society. “But we cannot afford to rest on our laurels.”
Overall, the survey recorded 167 bits of plastic litter for every 100 meters of coastline, with bottles, lids, strings, and wrappers among the most commonly found items. Price called for charging customers for other disposable plastic goods, or for banning such goods entirely. She said, “We must move quicker towards a society that repairs, reuses, and recycles.”
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