Shoppers’ use of plastic carrier bags in England has continued to fall following the introduction of the 5p charge, according to new figures. Sales of single-use bags by all large retailers in 2018/2019 slumped by 37% to 1.11bn compared with the previous year.

Sales of plastic bags by the seven biggest supermarkets – Asda, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, The Co-operative Group, Tesco and Waitrose – have plummeted by 90% since the levy was introduced in October 2015.

The average consumer in England now buys just 10 bags a year from the main supermarket retailers, according to the new data from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), down from 140 bags in 2014 before the charge came into force.

The new environment secretary, Theresa Villiers, said: “Our comprehensive action to slash plastic waste and leave our environment in a better state continues to deliver results, with our 5p charge reducing plastic bag sales by 90% in the big supermarkets.

“No one wants to see the devastating impact plastic waste is having on our precious wildlife. Today’s figures are a powerful demonstration that we are collectively calling time on being a throwaway society.”

The charge was introduced in England to help reduce litter, protect wildlife and influence consumer behaviour after the number of carriers bags given out by the seven major supermarkets rose by 200m in 2014. At the time, consumers were using more than 7.6bn bags a year, amounting to 61,000 tonnes of plastic.

Profile Plastic - what's the problem? Show Hide Why the sudden focus on plastics? Mankind produces roughly its entire body weight in plastics every year. But the vast majority of it is either not recycled, unrecyclable, or doesn't get reused once it's been recycled. Volumes ending up in the natural environment are surging. Plastic can take as much as 500 years to decompose.

What are the implications? Plastic is ubiquitous – and often deadly. It kills sea creatures that eat it but cannot digest it. It gets into the human food chain by contaminating the fish that we eat. It is even in our tap water. There is no science about the long-term impact of humans ingesting plastic.

What is to be done? Taxing plastic bags – or even banning them outright as Kenya has done – has changed consumer and producer behaviour. But what next? Deposit return schemes for plastic bottles work well in several countries. Charging for one-time coffee cups also seems to be on the agenda. But the real solutions may not be top down but ...

... bottom up? Yes. Grassroots movements led the way on plastic bags, and have spawned others such as Refill, which emphasises reusing bottles, and A Plastic Planet, which urges plastic-free aisles in supermarkets. Popular culture remains hugely important: it's just possible that the British series The Blue Planet has changed attitudes overnight.

Photograph: Zakir Chowdhury/Barcroft Images/Barcroft Media

The government recently announced a range of measures to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste in its Resources and Waste Strategy, which include a ban on microbeads and a forthcoming ban on plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds from April 2020. The government has also recently consulted on the introduction of a deposit return scheme for drinks containers, something the Scottish government has already committed to.

Maddy Haughton-Boakes of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) said: “The continued reduction in plastic bag use in our supermarkets is yet more evidence of the huge impact that a small financial incentive can have. Theresa Villiers must now build on this success by rolling it out to all small shops. There is absolutely no reason the charge shouldn’t be applied to all bags, paper as well as plastic, to bring an end to the use of these single-use items altogether.”