Are Online Supermarkets Fueling Plastic Bag Waste?

Online supermarket chains now dominate sales of single-use plastic bags, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), with the sector responsible for almost 90% of all such bags sold in the UK.

Data from 2024 shows a 7% increase in plastic bag sales, marking the first rise since the plastic bag charge began a decade ago.

A total of 437 million plastic bags were sold in 2024, compared to 407 million in 2023.

While most high street supermarkets have taken steps to eliminate these bags from their supply chains, online retailers remain a key contributor to the surge.

Online retail drives up bag sales

Defra links the rise in plastic bag sales directly to online supermarket chains.

The data highlights that Ocado alone sells 221 million plastic bags in 2024, accounting for more than half of all bags distributed by large retailers.

This marks an increase of 30 million bags over the previous year, a change attributed to the continued growth in online shopping since the pandemic.

An Ocado spokesperson explains: “Our approach to deliveries is designed to minimise emissions and waste, while keeping customer orders efficient and products in excellent condition from warehouse to doorstep.”

Supermarkets like Morrisons and Sainsbury’s also report an increase in plastic bag distribution, while others, including Tesco, Waitrose and Iceland, have phased out single-use plastic bags entirely since 2021.

Co-op has moved in a different direction, using compostable carrier bags instead of plastic ones.

A spokesperson for the retailer says: “As a responsible retailer, we do not sell single-use plastic bags or Bags for Life and haven’t done since 2021 when we converted all our carrier bags to be 100% certified compostable, with all profits from sales going to good causes.”

While some retailers still supply plastic bags, others have taken steps to reduce waste by adopting reusable or recyclable options.

Sainsbury’s now uses paper bags in all deliveries, while Ocado and Morrisons let customers return used plastic bags to drivers for reuse or recycling.

Retailers turn to closed-loop recycling

Since 2015, Ocado has operated what it describes as a closed-loop plastic bag recycling scheme.

A closed-loop system is one where used items are collected, processed and turned into new products within the same supply chain, improving resource efficiency.

Ocado encourages customers to return used plastic bags to drivers, offering a 10p Bag Recycle Bonus for each bag returned.

The company reports an 89% return rate under the scheme, with collected bags sent back through the supply chain to be remanufactured.

This initiative supports what retailers refer to as a more circular supply chain – a model that limits waste by reusing materials instead of discarding them.

Retailers across the sector now face pressure from both government and consumers to develop solutions that reduce the use of single-use plastics.

In most cases, single-use bags are preferred in last-mile delivery – the final stage in the supply chain where goods reach the customer – because they are cheap and readily available.

However, this part of the process is already the most expensive and operationally difficult, making it harder to implement more sustainable solutions without adding cost or complexity.

Cutting waste in the last mile

The increase in single-use plastic bag sales reveals clear inefficiencies in supply chain circularity.

This is due in part to the limited availability of collection systems for used bags and a lack of consumer incentives to return them, meaning many bags end up as waste.

While compostable and paper-based packaging options could improve environmental performance, they also risk slowing down delivery efficiency, especially in fast-paced ecommerce operations.

Still, some supermarkets are pushing forward. Tesco, for example, focuses on stripping out all unnecessary plastic from its operations.

Through its 4Rs packaging strategy – Remove, Reduce, Re-use, Recycle – it has taken more than two billion pieces of plastic out of its supply chain since 2019.

The company also increases the amount of recycled content in its own-brand plastic packaging.

Kené Umeasiegbu, Responsible Sourcing Director for Tesco, says: “We all have a responsibility to take care of our planet and removing unnecessary plastic is an important way that Tesco can reduce its environmental impact.”

Retailers acknowledge that behaviour change among consumers and suppliers remains essential.

Greater education and transparency about the consequences of plastic waste may help shift attitudes across the industry.

Online supermarkets in particular are now under scrutiny to balance convenience with sustainability.

Without more effective collection systems or a redesign of packaging logistics, the gap between ecommerce growth and plastic waste reduction is set to widen.