The price of plastic bags in larger retailers in England will double from 5p to 10p from April next year.

The 5p charge was first introduced in 2015 and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) says that plastic bag use has fallen from 140 a year per adult in 2014 to four now.

George Eustace, the Environment Secretary, said: “We have all seen the devastating impact plastic bags have on the oceans and on precious marine wildlife, which is why we are taking bold and ambitious action to tackle this issue head-on.

“The UK is already a world-leader in this global effort, and our carrier bag charge has been hugely successful in taking billions of harmful plastic bags out of circulation. But we want to go further by extending this to all retailers so we can continue to cut unnecessary waste and build back greener.

“I hope our pioneering track record on single-use plastics will inspire many more countries to follow suit, so we can take on plastic waste together and implement lasting change.”

Link: War on plastic waste stepped up with extension of plastic bag charge