Single-use plastic carrier bags charge: data for England 2021 to 2022
Updated 31 July 2023
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2023
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/carrier-bag-charge-summary-of-data-in-england/single-use-plastic-carrier-bags-charge-data-for-england-2021-to-2022
Since 5 October 2015, large retailers (250 or more employees) in England have been required by law to charge 5 pence for all single-use plastic carrier bags. They are required by law to report certain information (the number of single-use carrier bags sold under the charge, gross proceeds, any costs incurred and the use of the net proceeds) to Defra, and provide information on donations on a voluntary basis.
From 21 May 2021, the charge for single-use plastic carrier bags was raised to 10 pence and extended to all businesses, though the reporting requirements continue to apply to large retailers only.
This publication summarises data collected by Defra for the reporting year from 7 April 2021 to 6 April 2022. We have previously published summaries for earlier years and the full datasets on data.gov.uk. This includes the details provided by each retailer.
It is important to note that the data for 2020 to 2021 cannot be directly compared with other years, due to unique circumstances related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Some of these effects may have continued to have an impact in 2021 to 2022. Further information related to this can be found in the 2020 to 2021 report.
The summary for 2021 to 2022 is based on data from 154 retailers.
Summary
The reported figures for the number of single-use plastic carrier bags distributed are shown below. The 2020 to 2021 period also shows separate, voluntary data on the number of single-use plastic carrier bags provided during the exemption period. Those figures (in the final row) are based on returns from only 4 retailers. The 2020 to 2021 figures cannot be compared with other years due to the unique circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Table 1: key figures on the carrier bag charge (1)
| 2021 to 2022 | 2020 to 2021 (2) | 2019 to 2020 (2) | 2018 to 2019 | 2017 to 2018 | 2016 to 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of retailers reporting data | 154 | 166 | 194 | 221 | 249 | 261 |
| Total number of single-use plastic bags sold (3) | 496 million | 489 million | 627 million | 1.13 billion | 1.75 billion | 2.12 billion |
| Number of single-use plastic bags sold by the main retailers (4) | 197 million | 294 million | 271 million | 566 million | 1.04 billion | 1.33 billion |
| Number of single-use plastic bags sold by all retailers reporting, per person of the population | 9 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 32 | 38 |
| Number of single-use plastic bags sold by the main retailers, per person of the population | 3 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 19 | 24 |
| Number of retailers supplying voluntary information about donations to good causes (5) | 64 | 64 | 78 | 121 | 153 | 167 |
| Total amount donated to good causes (5) | £10 million | £11.5 million | £9.6 million | £22.9 million | £51.6 million | £65.4 million |
| Estimated number of online grocery single-use carrier bags given out (without charge) during exemption period (figures provided by 4 retailers only) (6) | 286 million |
Notes about Table 1
- Data for 2015 to 2016 covered 6 months (5 October 2015 to 6 April 2016) and is not directly comparable. The results from 2015 to 2016 are: 285 retailers reported, 1.1 billion single-use bags were sold, 600 million single-use bags were sold by the main retailers and £29.2 million was donated to good causes.
- Data for 2019 to 2020 and 2020 to 2021 has been updated to incorporate updated data for a small number of retailers. Incorporating this data has increased the number of bags from 488 million to 489 million for 2019 to 2020 and reduced it from 629 million to 627 million for 2019 to 2020. Donation figures are also affected, and one retailer who had not previously provided information on donations for 2020 to 2021 chose to do so. The data presented in this summary for 2019 to 2020 and 2020 to 2021 will not match those published previously.
- A small number of retailers reported data on a voluntary basis (such as, those with less than 250 employees). These retailers account for less than 1% of all reported bags.
- The main retailers are Asda, Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, The Co-operative Group, Waitrose and Morrisons.
- The headline figures on donations are not directly comparable between years due to changes in the retailers providing this information. At the time of reporting, some retailers did not have final figures for donations.
- Only 4 retailers provided estimates for the number of online grocery single-use bags that they distributed for free during the overlap between the exemption period and the 2020 to 2021 reporting period. These 4 retailers estimated that they distributed 286 million online grocery bags (without charge) during the exemption period. These 4 retailers account for 36% of the total number of single-use plastic bags sold in 2020 to 2021.
The main retailers (Asda, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, The Co-operative Group, Tesco and Waitrose) sold 197 million single-use plastic carrier bags in England in 2021 to 2022. In 2019 to 2020 (the last year prior to the COVID-19 pandemic) they sold 271 million single-use plastic carrier bags. These retailers account for around 40% of the total bags reported by all retailers for 2021 to 2022, 2020 to 2021 and 2019 to 2020. In 2018 to 2019 they accounted for 50% of total bags and in earlier years they have accounted for around 60%.
This is equivalent to each person in the population purchasing 3 single-use plastic carrier bags (from the main retailers) in 2021 to 2022.
The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) have previously reported that the main retailers in England issued 7.6 billion single-use carrier bags in the calendar year 2014, before the carrier bag charge was introduced. Our data indicates that, based on this year’s return, there has been a decrease of more than 97% in the number of bags sold by the main retailers (over 7.4 billion bags fewer) compared to 2014.
The total number of single-use plastic bags sold by all retailers who reported in 2021 to 2022 was 496 million. In 2019 to 2020 they sold 627 million single-use plastic bags. This figure of 496 million includes a small number of single-use carrier bags (less than 1%) that were reported on a voluntary basis.
In 2021 to 2022, 42% of retailers reported additional information on how they chose to donate proceeds from the carrier bag charge. These retailers donated £10 million to good causes. The total amount of money donated to good causes as a result of the single-use carrier bag charge (and reported to Defra) since the charge was introduced in 2015 to 2016 is now over £200 million. The true total is likely to be higher than this as not all retailers choose to report donation figures.
Donations to good causes
In 2021 to 2022, 42% of retailers (who accounted for 91% of all bags reported for this period) voluntarily provided information on donations they had made to good causes. It excludes one of the main retailers who chose not to provide this information, who had reported donations of £1.8 million in 2019 to 2020. In total these retailers donated £10 million to good causes. The total donation figures for each year are not directly comparable.
Amounts donated to good causes
Out of the total amount donated by retailers to good causes:
- £3,300 (0.03%) went to environmental causes
- £50,000 (0.5%) went to health or heritage causes
- £2.9 million (29%) went to charity or volunteering sectors
- £7 million (70%) went to a combination of good causes, or to causes chosen by customers or staff
Figure 1: amount donated by retailers to specific areas in 2021 to 2022 (millions of pounds donated)
| Type of good causes | Amount donated |
|---|---|
| Combined good causes or chosen by customers or staff (1) | £7 million |
| Charity or volunteering | £2.93 million |
| Health or heritage (2) | £0.05 million |
| Environment | £0.003 million |
(1) Combined good causes means that they are related to education, arts, heritage, sports, environment, health, charity or volunteering sectors, or are causes chosen by customers or staff.
(2) Health or heritage means that it includes those that donated to health, heritage or a combination of these causes.
Types of good causes
Figure 2: percentage of retailers donating to different types of good causes in 2021 to 2022
| Type of good causes | Percentage of retailers donating to different types of good causes |
|---|---|
| Combined good causes or chosen by customers or staff (1) | 31% |
| Charity or volunteering | 49% |
| Health or heritage (2) | 11% |
| Environment | 9% |
(1) Combined good causes means that they are related to education, arts, heritage, sports, environment, health, charity or volunteering sectors, causes chosen by customers or staff.
(2) Health or heritage means that it includes those that donated to health, heritage or a combination of these causes.
Figure 2 shows the types of good causes to which retailers donated in 2021 to 2022. This chart only covers the 65 retailers who provided this information, and includes 6 of the 7 main retailers:
- Charity or volunteering was the most popular choice with 49% of retailers donating to these
- 31% of retailers chose to donate to combined good causes (relating to education, art, heritage, sports, environment, health, charity or volunteering and causes chosen by customers or staff), or to causes chosen by customers or staff
- 11% of retailers donated to health or heritage causes
- 9% of retailers donated to environmental causes
Carrier bag use
For the 2021 to 2022 period, the main retailers (Asda, The Co-operative Group, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose) sold 197 million single-use plastic bags. This is equivalent to each person in the population purchasing 3 bags per year during 2021 to 2022. In 2019 to 2020 they sold 271 million single-use plastic carrier bags.
Waitrose and Morrisons saw increases of 13 million and 4 million bags respectively compared to 2019 to 2020. Over the same period, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Marks and Spencer and The Co-operative Group saw decreases of 41 million, 21 million, 14 million, 12 million and 2 million bags respectively.
Note that these changes are relative to the 2019 to 2020 reporting period, the last period prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, as this is thought to be a more appropriate comparison for the reasons outlined previously. The general trend here is a substantial reduction in the number of bags sold (for all but 2 of the main retailers).
WRAP reported in 2014 that the main retailers circulated 7.64 billion single-use carrier bags in England. See WRAP’s data for England in 2014, covering 6 of the 7 retailers. Defra’s data for the reporting year 2021 to 2022 shows that the main retailers sold 197 million single-use carrier bags, a reduction of over 97% on the number of carrier bags since the charge was introduced. This is equivalent to each person in the population using around 3 bags per year during 2021 to 2022, compared to around 5 during 2019 to 2020 and around 140 in 2014 before the charge was introduced.
The total number of single-use plastic carrier bags sold by all retailers was 496 million in 2021 to 2022. 627 million single-use plastic bags were sold in 2019 to 2020. In 2021 to 2022, one retailer has reported data on a voluntary basis. This retailer accounts for less than 1% of all reported bags.
Retailers’ responsibilities
We rely on retailers who fall within the scope of the carrier bag charge to register and report their single-use plastic carrier bag data.
For the 2021 to 2022 reporting year, large retailers were required to charge a minimum of 5 pence (before 21 May 2021) or 10 pence (after 21 May 2021) per bag for carrier bags that are all of the following:
- unused – it is new and has not already been used for sold goods to be taken away or delivered
- plastic and up to 70 microns thick
- has handles, an opening and is not sealed
- sold by a large retailer who employs 250 or more full-time equivalent employees in total (not just in retail roles) - it is possible that for some of these, the retail element may be a relatively small part of their business
These requirements were extended to all retailers on 21 May 2021, but retailers with fewer than 250 employees are not required to report data to Defra. Retailers are not required by law to report on carrier bag use if they:
- do not distribute bags within the above definition of single-use plastic carrier bags
- only distribute paper bags or ‘bags for life’
- are small and medium-sized businesses with fewer than 250 full-time equivalent employees (although some report data on a voluntary basis)
Some bags are exempt from the charge, although retailers can choose to charge for them. These include plastic bags that are solely used to contain certain items, including:
- uncooked meat, poultry and fish
- unwrapped food for animal or human consumption
- unwrapped loose seeds
- flowers
- unwrapped blades
- prescription medicine
Retailers do not have to charge if the bag only contains these items but must charge if other items are added.
Read more about retailers’ responsibilities.
The legal obligation for retailers to charge for, and report the number of, single-use plastic carrier bags supplied with online deliveries (online grocery delivery bags) was temporarily removed from 21 March 2020 to 21 September 2020, in the previous reporting period.
Notes on the data
The following retailers reported data on the number of single-use plastic carrier bags sold:
- 154 retailers in 2021 to 2022 (1 retailer reported data on a voluntary basis)
- 166 retailers in 2020 to 2021 (5 retailers reported data on a voluntary basis)
- 194 retailers in 2019 to 2020 (4 retailers reported data on a voluntary basis)
- 221 retailers in 2018 to 2019 (6 retailers reported data on a voluntary basis - some retailers did not understand the basis for the mandatory or voluntary field, so this was amended based on the number of employees they reported. Further information on this can be found in the published dataset)
- 249 retailers in 2017 to 2018
- 261 retailers in 2016 to 2017
- 285 retailers in 2015 to 2016 (6 months’ data)
142 retailers reported data in both 2021 to 2022 and 2020 to 2021, and for both years these accounted for over 99% of all single-use carrier bags sold. Therefore, this difference in the retailers reporting in each year does not have a significant impact on the data.
For the 2021 to 2022 reporting year:
- 12 retailers provided data in 2021 to 2022 who had not in 2020 to 2021, 4 of these have provided data for the first time. These retailers account for 0.4% of the total number of single-use bags reported for 2021 to 2022
- 24 retailers who submitted data for 2020 to 2021 did not report data for 2021 to 2022. In 2020 to 2021 these retailers accounted for 0.4% of the total number of single-use bags
- 10 retailers not reporting in 2021 to 2022 notified us that they have stopped issuing single-use plastic carrier bags and are therefore no longer obligated to report data. These retailers accounted for 0.04% of the single-use bags sold in 2020 to 2021
- 2 of the retailers not reporting in 2021 to 2022 informed us that they are not obligated to complete a return as they have fewer than 250 employees (and are now not reporting)
- 1 of the retailers not reporting in 2021 to 2022 informed us that they no longer operate a retail business in the UK and are therefore no longer obliged to report data
- 11 retailers who did not report, did not notify us of the reason for not supplying the information. These retailers together sold 1.7 million bags in 2020 to 2021 (0.3% of total bags)
The data for 2021 to 2022 is not directly comparable against the data for 2020 to 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its likely impact on the sales of single-use plastic bags. It is therefore more appropriate to compare the data for 2021 to 2022 to the data for 2019 to 2020. In addition, there are slight differences in the list of retailers who provided data.
Retailers provide data on donations on a voluntary basis. Changes in retailers who reported information mean that direct comparison across years is not appropriate.
This data was provided by:
- 65 retailers (42% of retailers who reported) in 2021 to 2022. They accounted for 91% of all bags reported for 2021 to 2022. Tesco did not report; their donations for 2019 to 2020 were £1.8 million
- 64 retailers (38% of retailers who reported) in 2020 to 2021. They accounted for 82% of all bags reported for 2020 to 2021. Marks and Spencer and Waitrose did not report - their combined donations for 2019 to 2020 were £0.9 million
- 78 retailers (40% of retailers who reported) in 2019 to 2020. They accounted for 78% of all bags reported for 2019 to 2020. Sainsbury’s did not report - their donations for 2018 to 2019 were £2.2 million
- 121 retailers (55% of retailers who reported) in 2018 to 2019. They accounted for 57% of all bags reported for 2018 to 2019. The Co-operative Group and Waitrose did not report - their combined donations for 2017 to 2018 were £7.7 million
- 153 retailers (61% of retailers who reported) in 2017 to 2018. They accounted for 77% of all bags reported for that period. Marks and Spencer did not report
If you have any enquiries about this publication email us at: Plastics.Consultation@defra.gov.uk