England has become the last country in the UK to charge 5p for plastic bags when shopping at larger shops. Why? A whopping 7.64 billion plastic bags were handed out to shoppers in England in 2014, most of which end up in land-fill but also some escape into hedges, trees, taking hundreds of years to break down.. looking unsightly and ultimately damaging our wildlife, seas and coastline.

By charging for these, the government predict a 80% reduction from supermarkets and 50% on high streets leading to litter clean-up cost and carbon savings. Shoppers are encouraged to instead re-use plastic bags and/or bring their own bags to fill with goods.

So that’s the bad news out of the way, how about the good news? You can buy re-usable Totally Locally Teddington bags at local shops Gardenia, Heirloom, Card Collection and Simply Skin for £5.

They are versatile enough to hold a lot of paper/cardboard/glass etc to transport to a recycling centre on your travels, then strong enough to carry lots of shopping (tested 4 x 2 litre bottles or lots of misc items).

They’re also a great way to show that you support your high street and the Totally Locally campaign.

If you have a TL bag and are travelling abroad, take a snap of the bag and send it to us, we’re collating a map to see how far they travel! (click for full map).