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The Big Bag Ban

1.6 Billion
Bags for life were bought in supermarkets in 2019.
A new study has found UK supermarkets sold enough “bags for life” in 2020 for every household in Britain to have
57 Each

In 2021 we launched the Big Bag Bag. Thousands of you signed our petition alongside Greenpeace, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Julia Bradbury, Bonnie Wright, Fearne Cotton, Laura Whitmore and other leading public figures, NGOs, activists, academics, cross-party MPs and Peers, calling for the government to ban all plastic bags.

You may have heard of the great plastic bag success story: a 98% drop in single-use plastic bags usage since the government introduced a 5p charge in 2015.

What the government isn’t telling you, is the number of ‘bags for life’ sold has rocketed since 2015.‘Bags for life’, as they are misleadingly called, use more plastic than the old single-use bags and are now being sold in enormous quantities – 1.6 billion of them were bought in supermarkets in 2019.

A new study has found UK supermarkets sold enough “bags for life” in 2020 for every household in Britain to have 57 each.

Unlike single use bags, the charges on bags for life are not expected to be donated to good causes and retailers are not required to formally report sales. This loophole has the potential to create an additional revenue stream for retailers and VAT from sales benefits the government.

That’s why we’re calling for an outright ban on all plastic bags and for transparent reporting from government and retailers on the volume of ALL plastic bags sold and how the proceeds are being used and closed loop solutions that encourage reuse.

Stand with us. Add your name below to show support for a ban on ALL plastic bags and demand action from the government and retailers.

SIGN THE PETITION!

Number of PETITION SIGNATORIES

0
AND COUNTING! SEE OUR LATEST SIGNERS BELOW:
Hannah Watson
about 4 weeks ago
Lisa D Ruiz
about 2 months ago
Tomos Owens
about 3 months ago
Nathalie Yates
about 3 months ago

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