Plastic bag litter on beaches almost halved after 5p shop charge

The number of plastic bags left discarded on UK beaches has dropped by almost half since a 5p charge for the carriers was brought in, a conservation charity has said.

Beach cleaners have recorded a 40% drop in the number of the ugly and polluting litter compared to just a year earlier, according to the Marine Conservation Society (MCS).

It said the amount of disposable bags found dumped on the shores was the lowest in a decade and was directly linked to the nationwide charge.

Plastic bags can take up to 1,000 years to degrade, and act a major sea pollutant and a danger to wildlife.

Animals and birds can become trapped inside the bags and drown, while others mistake them for food and then starve to death when the indigestible plastic blocks their stomachs.

MCS began calling for action on single use carrier bags in shops back in 2008 and was instrumental in getting a levy introduced in Wales in 2011, Northern Ireland in 2013, Scotland in 2014 and England in October last year.

The charity's beach watch manager Lauren Eyles said the results of their beach cleans showed the impact of the change.

She said: "This year, for the first time since the charges were introduced, we've seen a significant drop in the number and that can only be as a result of the 5p charge which is now in place in all the home nations."

Plastic bags littering a port in Uruguay Credit: PA

Beaches in England and Northern Ireland saw the biggest drop in the number of plastic bags found during the September clean up, with both seeing the litter more than halved.

The charity said there has been an overall drop of almost 4% in the total amount of litter found on UK beaches between 2015 and 2016, with 6,000 volunteers collecting 268,384 items.

Analysis of the data collected by volunteers also showed a rise of over 4% in the quantity of drinks containers found on the UK's beaches - including plastic bottles,bottle tops and aluminium cans.

There was also a 53% rise over the past year in the amount of balloon-related litter found on beaches.