The number of plastic bags found on Britain’s beaches has fallen by 80% since the introduction of a levy around a decade ago, new figures show.
The Marine Conservation Society (MCS), which monitors litter on the shoreline, is now urging the government to build on the success by introducing a deposit scheme for plastic bottles, which are a growing problem.
According to the charity, 4,684 plastic bags were recorded last year by volunteers doing beach cleans around the country.
Volunteers collecting plastic on the beach
That’s an average of one bag on every 100m of beach surveyed – down from five per 100m in 2014.
Wales was the first UK nation to bring in a levy on plastic bags in 2011. England was the last to introduce the 5p levy in 2015, which increased to 10p in 2021.
Lizzie Price, beachwatch manager at the MCS, told Sky News: “It shows how just a small charge like 5p can make everyone think twice and look towards more sustainable alternatives.
“But we cannot afford to rest on our laurels.
“We need broader policies that charge or ban more single-use items where possible such as the proposed deposit return schemes for plastic bottles, cans, and glass.”
Lizzie Price, beachwatch manager at the MCS
MCS data shows that between 2022 and 2023 the number of plastic bottles found on beaches increased by 14%.
The last government proposed putting deposits on bottles to encourage recycling in 2017. But it has been delayed until at least 2027 as it struggled to agree the scheme with businesses.
Similar deposit systems in other countries have dramatically reduced the number of bottles littered in the environment.
The new government says it will take another look at changes to packaging, including deposits on bottles.
The MCS is now calling on the government to introduce a deposit scheme for plastic bottles
It also wants binding regulations as part of a Global Plastics Treaty.
Talks involving 175 nations have been bogged down by lobbying of the fossil fuel industry. Oil is the raw ingredient of plastic, and some countries have been pushing back on proposals to reduce the production of the material.
But Lucy Woodall, associate professor of marine conservation and policy at Exeter University, said the amount of new plastic being made must be significantly reduced.
“I don’t think we can solve the plastic crisis just by using waste management,” she said.
“We know that there’s mismanaged waste. We know that as plastic pollution gets out into the environment, it’s going to get into places that we just can’t clean up, like the middle of the deep sea where I work.”
A plastic bottle washed up on Brighton beach
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The last of five rounds of United Nations talks to agree a treaty are set for the end of November. But the draft is currently riddled with text in brackets that still needs to be resolved and a deal is far from certain.
The UK is part of a “high-ambition coalition” of countries that want plastic production reduced to “sustainable” levels.
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A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “Plastic pollution has for too long littered our streets, plagued Britain’s rivers and seas and threatened our wildlife.
“That is why the new government is committed to cutting our reliance on plastics as we move toward a zero-waste economy.”