A Fylde Coast Conservation group is hailing the 5p plastic bag charge as a success!

The number of plastic bags found on UK beaches has dropped by almost half in a year.



The Rossall Beach Residents and Community Group has said the fall is thanks to the introduction of the 5p per bag charge, which came into force in England last October.

England was the last UK nation to bring it in - in October last year.

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS)

It is estimated that 80% fewer single-use bags have been used by shoppers, and the society has described the decrease as "fantastic news for marine wildlife".

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) Great British Beach Clean report says in 2015 there were, on average, 11 plastic bags per 100m of coastline cleaned.

But in 2016 there were just under seven bags per 100m - the lowest number seen for 10 years.

Lauren Eyles, an MCS Beachwatch manager, has credited that drop to the 5p charge.

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.

"It vindicates the charge, which we predicted would be good news for the marine environment."

Just up the coast from Blackpool, volunteers from the Rossall Beach Community Group tidy up over two tonnes of rubbish every year, most of it plastic.

One group member, Jane Littlewood, said she has seen first hand the damage that bags and other plastic items can cause.

"It's when you look at the marine environment when you can see what happens," she said.

"Animals can eat them thinking they're jellyfish. And we've collected corpses that when they're dissected their stomachs are filled with plastic, so they've just starved to death."

The group back up the charity's research, saying they have found far fewer plastic carrier bags in recent months.

But globally, the UK's improvements are still a drop in the ocean - as an estimated 500 billion single-use plastic bags are used worldwide every year.