(Telegraph.co.uk) Nearly £27m worth of plastic bags are believed to have been stolen in England since the 5p government charge was introduced last year.
Large businesses have had to charge for single-use plastic bags in England since October 2015. Similar measures were already in place in Scotland and Wales, where carrier bag uptake reduced drastically.
However, half of English shoppers say they have taken a plastic bag without paying, according to a poll by VoucherCodesPro.co.uk. The research suggests £26.7m worth of carrier bags have been stolen.
The thefts may have taken place at self-checkouts, which rely on customer honesty about how many bags they have taken.
Asked why they stole the bags, 37pc of the light-fingered shoppers said they did not want to pay the charge because “it results in companies making more money”.
Over a quarter said they thought it was a waste of money, while 22pc said they did it because no one would notice.
Researchers asked 2,784 people about their plastic bag habits, finding 51pc admitted to stealing bags, taking an average of three a month.
The results were then extrapolated to estimate that £26,671,664 worth of bags had been taken.
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