Overview
- England bought 437 million single-use carrier bags last year, up 7% from 407 million, marking the first increase since the 2015 charge.
- Ocado sold 221 million bags—about 51% of the total—rising by 30 million year on year, while Co-op sold 94 million, Morrisons 58 million and Sainsbury’s 11 million.
- Wrap attributes the reversal largely to growth in online shopping and packing methods for home delivery, including rapid and on‑demand services.
- Retailers cite mitigation measures: Ocado reports an 89% bag hand‑back rate in its closed-loop system, Morrisons reports 88%, Sainsbury’s has switched to paper for many orders and is expanding bagless delivery, and Co‑op uses compostable bags.
- Environmental groups report more plastic reaching beaches, and the government points to a circular economy taskforce and a 2027 bottle deposit‑return scheme as part of its response.