Research and analysis

Single-use plastic carrier bags charge: data for England 2022 to 2023

Updated 19 September 2024

Applies to England

• Publication for Northern Ireland
• Publication for Scotland
• Publication for Wales

Since 5 October 2015, large retailers (250 or more full-time equivalent 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 (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. As such, the 2022 to 2023 reporting period is the first full year of data for single use carrier bags sold at 10 pence.

This publication summarises data collected by Defra for the reporting year from 7 April 2022 to 6 April 2023. 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 2022 to 2023 is based on data from 119 retailers who sold single-use plastic carrier bags during the reporting period.

1. 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)

Key figures	2022 to 2023	2021 to 2022	2020 to 2021	2019 to 2020	2018 to 2019	2017 to 2018	2016 to 2017
Number of retailers reporting data (2)	119	154	166	194	221	249	261
Total number of single-use plastic bags sold (3)	406 million	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)	133 million	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 (5)	7	9	9	11	20	32	38
Number of single-use plastic bags sold by the main retailers, per person of the population (5)	2	3	5	5	10	19	24
Number of retailers supplying voluntary information about donations to good causes (6)	46	65	64	78	121	153	167
Total amount donated to good causes (6)	£6.3 million	£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) (7)	N/A	N/A	286 million	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Notes about Table 1

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.
2. The number of retailers relates to just those who have sold single-use plastic carrier bags during the reporting period. It does not include retailers who have told us they are no longer selling single use plastic carrier bags.
3. A small number of retailers have previously reported data on a voluntary basis (those with less than 250 full-time employees). These retailers account for less than 1% of all reported bags in those years. For 2022 to 2023 no retailers provided data on a voluntary basis.
4. The main retailers are Asda, Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, The Co-operative Group, Waitrose and Morrisons. For 2022 to 2023, Tesco and Waitrose did not sell any single-use plastic carrier bags.
5. Mid-year population estimates for England were not available for 2022 at the time these statistics were produced. The mid-year estimate for 2021 has been used.
6. 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.
7. 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 (21 March 2020 to 21 September 2020) 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.

For the 2022 to 2023 period, Tesco and Waitrose reported that they did not sell any single-use plastic carrier bags. The other main retailers (Asda, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and The Co-operative Group) sold 133 million single-use plastic carrier bags in England in 2022 to 2023. In 2021 to 2022 the main retailers sold 197 million single-use plastic carrier bags. The five main retailers, who sold single-use plastic carrier bags, account for around 33% of the total bags reported by all retailers for 2022 to 2023. In 2021 to 2022, 2020 to 2021 and 2019 to 2020 the main seven retailers accounted for 40% of total bags. 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 around 2 single-use plastic carrier bags (from the 5 main retailers who sold bags) in 2022 to 2023.

The Waste & 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 98% 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 2022 to 2023 was 406 million. In 2021 to 2021 they sold 496 million single-use plastic bags.

In 2022 to 2023, 39% of retailers reported additional information on how they chose to donate proceeds from the carrier bag charge. These retailers donated £6.3 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 £206 million. The true total is likely to be higher than this as not all retailers choose to report donation figures.

2. Donations to good causes

In 2022 to 2023, 39% of retailers (who accounted for 72% of all bags reported for this period) voluntarily provided information on donations they had made to good causes. In total these retailers donated £6.3 million to good causes. Two of the main retailers (who sold single use bags) chose not to provide this information, they had previously reported donations of £1.4 million in 2021 to 2022. The total donation figures for each year are not directly comparable.

2.1 Amounts donated to good causes

Out of the total amount donated by retailers to good causes:

• £4,600 (0.07%) went to environmental causes
• £24,000 (0.4%) went to health or heritage causes

• £470,000 (7%) went to charity or volunteering sectors

• £5.8 million (92%) 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 2022 to 2023 (£ million donated)

Type of good causes	Amount donated (£ million)
Combined causes or chosen by customers or staff (1)	£5.84 million
Charity or volunteering	£0.47 million
Health or heritage (2)	£0.02 million
Environment	£0.005 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.

2.2 Types of good causes

Figure 2: Percentage of retailers donating to different types of good causes in 2022 to 2023

Type of good causes	Percentage of retailers donating
Combined good causes or chosen by customers or staff (1)	41%
Charity or volunteering	35%
Health or heritage (2)	11%
Environment	13%

(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.

Figure 2 shows the types of good causes to which retailers donated in 2022 to 2023. This chart only covers the 46 retailers who provided this information, and includes 3 of the 7 main retailers:

• 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 was the most popular choice with 41% of retailers donating to these
• 35% of retailers donated to charity or volunteering causes
• 13% of retailers donated to environmental causes
• 11% of retailers donated to health or heritage causes

3. Carrier bag use

For the 2022 to 2023 period, Tesco and Waitrose reported that they did not sell any single-use plastic carrier bags. The other main retailers (Asda, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and The Co-operative Group) sold 133 million single-use plastic carrier bags in England in 2022 to 2023. This is equivalent to each person in the population purchasing around 2 bags per year during 2022 to 2023. In 2021 to 2022 the main retailers sold 197 million single-use plastic carrier bags.

The Co-operative Group, Asda, Morrisons and Marks and Spencer saw decreases of approximately 35.3 million, 5.5 million, 2.4 million and 0.1 million bags respectively, compared to 2021 to 2022. Sainsbury’s saw an increase of 2.7 million bags compared to 2021 to 2022.

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 2022 to 2023 shows that the main retailers sold 133 million single-use carrier bags, a reduction of over 98% on the number of carrier bags since the charge was introduced. This is equivalent to each person in the population using around 2 bags per year during 2022 to 2023, compared to around 3 during 2021 to 2022 and around 140 in 2014 before the charge was introduced.

The total number of single-use plastic carrier bags sold by all retailers was 406 million in 2022 to 2023. In 2021 to 2022, 496 million single-use plastic bags were sold.

4. 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 2022 to 2023 reporting year, all retailers were required to charge a minimum of 10 pence (after 21 May 2021) per bag for carrier bags that are all 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

However, 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, during the 2020 to 2021 reporting period.

5. Notes on the data

The following retailers reported data on the number of single-use plastic carrier bags sold:

• 119 retailers in 2022 to 2023 (no retailers reported data on a voluntary basis)
• 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/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)

112 retailers reported data in both 2022 to 2023 and 2021 to 2022, and these retailers accounted for over 93% of all single use carrier bags sold in each of these reporting periods. The change in retailers reporting is unlikely to have a significant impact on trends for the aggregate figures.

For the 2022 to 2023 reporting year:

• 7 retailers provided data in 2022 to 2023 (this includes 2 retailers which have been sold and are now trading under new names) who had not in 2021 to 2022, 4 of these have provided data for the first time. These retailers account for 0.03% of the total number of single-use bags reported for 2022 to 2023

• 42 retailers who submitted data for 2021 to 2022 did not report data for 2022 to 2023. In 2021 to 2022 these retailers accounted for 6.2% of the total number of single-use bags

• 11 retailers not reporting in 2022 to 2023 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 4.9% of the single-use bags sold in 2021 to 2022
• 2 of the retailers not reporting in 2022 to 2023 have been sold and are now trading under other names and they have reported under these new names
• 1 of the retailers not reporting in 2022 to 2023 is in administration
• 28 retailers who did not report, did not notify us of the reason for not supplying the information. These retailers together sold 6.1 million bags in 2021 to 2022 (1.2% of total bags)

The data for the latest year 2022 to 2023 are not exactly comparable against the data from the previous year for 2021 to 2022, owing to differences in the list of retailers who provided data. However, this difference in the retailers reporting is unlikely to have a significant impact to the overall aggregate figure or the trend.

Retailers provide data on donations on a voluntary basis. Changes in retailers who reported donation information mean that direct comparison across years is not appropriate. This data was provided by:

• 46 retailers (39%) in 2022 to 2023. They accounted for 72% of all bags reported in 2022 to 2023. Two of the main retailers, Sainsbury’s and The Co-operative Group, (who sold single-use carrier bags in 2022 to 2023) did not report their donations – their combined donations for 2021 to 2022 were £1.4 million
• 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