This article has been brought to my attention.  Good news.

Supermarkets have been told they must slash the number of plastic carrier bags they give to customers by 70 per cent by next spring.

The Government has warned stores that a failure to do so voluntarily will trigger a change in the law to put an end to the distribution of free throwaway bags, dubbed ‘plastic poison’.

Firms would be required to charge for the bags – with money going to environmentally friendly good causes – in a drive to encourage customers to switch to reusable alternatives.