Plastic bags now cost 5p and the people of England can't cope with the ensuing chaos

The humble plastic bag will now cost 5p from all large retailers in England, but not from small, independent shops.

The 5p charge, which has already been in place in the rest of the UK without too much stress, is part of a plan to prevent plastic carrier bags ending up as litter or marine pollution where they can be harmful to wildlife.

But the news been met with derision by the press...

CHAOS FEARS!

RED TAPE!

As well as the people of the Daily Mail comments section

Seething at the madness of it all

Because it's an "absolute disgrace", ladies and gentlemen

Both #plasticbag and #5pbagcharge were trending on Twitter

And news of the chaos has spread around the world

Chaos!

(Although at least this is tongue-in-cheek..)

Even the Chancellor has chimed in

People have been sharing gifs from American Beauty a lot

The bags are even fighting to stay free

People are preparing for the impending bag-ocalypse

Some people have seen the funny side

Cinematic spin-offs are being planned

But others will not let it lie

The question on everyone's lips is, will Britain be able to cope in this dark new world?

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