On 5th October 2015 the UK government introduced a charge of 5p for all single-use plastic carrier bags needed for shoppers in large stores throughout the country, to try and cut both the use of bags and the litter they cause and instead, encourage people to reuse their shopping bags.Although there are a few exceptions including when purchasing unwrapped food and raw meat or fish, most retailers now have to charge their customers for bags and often offer a slightly pricier bag for life that can be reused (and often replaced by the store when it wears through).
Despite the uncertainty of the general public surrounding the change, it has proven to have already has an enormous impact with recent reports suggesting that there has been as much as an 80percent decline in single-use plastic bags since October which is a phenomenal result for the environment as a whole.
