Plastic bags usage down 90% (England) – BBC News – 30th July 2016

In October 2015, England finally removed free plastic bags from large retailers and levied a 5 pence charge on them, following Wales (in 2011 (71% drop)), with Northern Ireland (2013) and Scotland (in 2014) seeing significant drops also. The usage in England dropped 90% in just 9 months (by the time of this report). By 2017, in the UK more plastic was being recycled and items like micro beads being removed from lotions are under way, though use/production of plastics worldwide has increased at an enormous rate, doubling in the last 13 years alone, compared to the previous 50 or 60 years earlier (stated in a report I saw in August 2017).