Is this the beginning of the end for the 5p plastic bag?

Tesco is planning to end sales of 5p plastic carrier bag in its supermarkets, less than two years after the law was changed.

Once they have been phased out customers who have not bought their own bags will have to fork out 8p or 10p for a bag for life.

In October 2015 the Government bought in a 5p charge for carrier bags.

The law was changed to discourage shoppers from using them after a report was released that stated billions of bags were finding their way into the ocean and harming animals.

A 5p charge was also created to reduce the number of plastic items ending up on landfill sites.

Tesco is launching a ten-week trial in stores across the country to see how customers cope without the bags on sale. The supermarket has chosen stores in Norwich, Aberdeen and Dundee.

The supermarket said sales of 5p bags have fallen by 72% in the last year.

If the new scheme proves to be a success Tesco could roll it out nationwide.

A spokeswoman for Tesco told The Grocer that the trial was intended "to look at the impact on bag usage if we remove single-use carrier bags", adding: "In these stores, customers who need a bag can still buy a bag for life, which they can reuse."

Tesco currently donates 3.4p of every 5p bag sold to local grants for environmental improvement through a charity called Bags of Help.

1p from every bag sold is VAT and goes to the Government.