The measure, announced by the UK government this week, will see the price customers are charged to pay for plastic bags increased from 5p to 10p to curb the number of plastic bags ending up in the ocean and environment.The scheme was first introduced in 2015 and it currently applies to any retailer employing 250 or more people. According to the Marine Conservation Society, the initiative has led to a 60% drop in the number of plastic bags on UK beaches.

Environment Secretary George Eustice 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.”The charge is not a tax and retailers are not legally required to give the proceeds to charity.The plastic bag fee is one of several schemes the UK Government is introducing to protect the ocean from plastic waste. A ban on plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds will come into force in October, and cosmetics and personal care products can no longer contain microbeads.Additionally, the government is planning to introduce a tax on plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled content from April 2022.