evidence: The Key Points are - During the eighth year of operation, 56.2 million carrier bags were dispensed by retailers under the carrier bag levy in Northern Ireland. [...] - The number of carrier bags dispensed in 2020/21 is still markedly lower than the baseline figure prior to the introduction of the levy, which was estimated at 300 million bags in 2012. Year 8 of the 5p levy saw an 81.3% reduction in bag numbers dispensed annually compared to the baseline figure which meant approximately 243.8 million fewer bags in circulation in 2020/21 and an estimated 1.7 billion fewer since the introduction of the levy. [...] 1. This is the eighth year of the carrier bag levy in Northern Ireland. These are the final official statistics for 2020/21. The Department intends to publish 2021/22 figures in August 2022. Reports from previous years can be accessed from: https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/northern-ireland-carrier-bag-levy-statistics.