SCOTTISH consumers slightly reduced the number of single-use carrier bags taken out from supermarkets ahead of a consultation by the Scottish Government to introduce a 5p levy on the products.
Customers used 740 million bags in 2011, a slight drop from the 750 million used the previous year, figures from waste reduction body Wrap show.
Across the UK, eight billion carrier bags were used in 2011, a 5.4% rise on the 7.6 billion in 2010, but in Wales, where a minimum 5p levy was introduced last October, the number plunged by a fifth to 270 million.
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