New ruling : All EU countries will have to cut the use of throwaway ‘ plastic poison ’ carrier bags by 80 per cent following a vote yesterday . All EU countries will have to cut the use of throwaway ‘ plastic poison ’ carrier bags by 80 per cent following a vote yesterday . The decision represents a victory for Daily Mail readers and the ‘ Banish the Bags ’ campaign , which launched in February 2008 with the backing of groups from the National Trust to the Campaign to Protect Rural England . Member states have set the 28 countries of the EU a deadline of 2025 to meet the target which can be achieved through the introduction of bans or charges . The UK is already on course to meet this target following decisions by the devolved governments in Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland , which have already have a system of charges . England is set to follow suit with a 5p levy on the plastic bags in October after supermarkets failed to meet pledges to reduce bag numbers through voluntary schemes . All profits from the charges in England will go to good causes , which will include a raft of green clean-up groups , tackling green spaces , rivers and beaches , as well as other charities . Similar charging schemes in Ireland have led to a reduction of around 90per cent in the distribution of the flimsy bags , which have become a blight on streets and parks . Volunteers at the Marine Conservation Society have been working tirelessly to clean beaches and protect sea life such as turtles , which are known to eat the bags because they mistake them for jellyfish . Their work has been supported by money raised through a 5p charge on bags by Marks & Spencer , which led the way among retailers in tackling the blight they cause . Pollution and litter expert at the MCS , Dr Sue Kinsey , welcomed the EU vote , as a ‘ useful first step ’ in the reduction in single use plastic bags . However , she said an original plan for mandatory charges throughout the EU had been watered down with a decision to leave it up to each member state on how to achieve the promised 80per cent reduction . Bizarrely , the UK government was among those that opposed the idea of a mandatory charge across all EU states . The MCS is also concerned that the bag charge scheme for England will not be as effective as those in Wales , Scotland and Northern Ireland . This is because it carries various exemptions , including a decision not to apply the 5p fee in small shops . An estimated 100 billion carrier bags are used every year in Europe - with 8 billion ending up as litter . Many of those end up in seas and rivers , killing millions of marine animals . Wales was the first home nation to introduce a 5p charge four years ago . Since then it is estimated that the number of bags issued at the tills is down by more than 75per cent . The decision represents a victory for Daily Mail readers and the ‘ Banish the Bags ’ campaign , which launched in February 2008 ith the backing of groups from the National Trust to the Campaign to Protect Rural England . There , families have found no significant problems in switching to re-usable bags and baskets for their shopping . Some other EU nations already have controls in place . Italy has a ban and Spain will introduce one in 2018 , while there are levies in the Czech Republic and Malta . A number of countries have taxes on shops which give out free bags , including Belgium , Bulgaria , Denmark , France , Hungary , Latvia , Netherlands , Romania , and Slovenia . The Danish Green MEP Margrete Auken , who pushed the legislation through the European parliament , called the approval ‘ a historic breakthrough in tackling the pervasive problem of plastic waste ’ .
EU decision is a victory for Daily Mail readers and Ban the Bags campaign . Charge system already introduced in Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland . Means UK is on course to meet 2025 target , with England set to bring in 28 levy on plastic bags in October .