100 million plastic bags dispensed in Northern Ireland in 2015/16

A report by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency shows that the number of bags dispensed in Northern Ireland between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2016 totalled 101.2 million.

This was 10.6 per cent higher than the previous year.

The number of carrier bags dispensed in 2015/16 is still markedly lower than the baseline figure prior to the introduction of the levy, which was estimated at 300 million bags in 2012.

The proceeds of the levy for 2015/16 totalled £5.2 million, an increase of £0.5 million (10.8 per cent) from the previous year.