Supermarket bringing back brown paper bags

The old-fashioned brown paper bag is making a comeback as supermarkets bid to cut down on plastic packaging.

Morrisons said it will reintroduce the traditional bags for loose fruit and vegetables at grocery counters.

The paper bags will be made from 100 per cent recycled paper and will prevent 150million small plastic bags ending up in landfill every year.

Shoppers will also be encouraged to bring in their own Tupperware for meat and fish, with Morrisons giving them 100 loyalty points – equivalent to 10p – every time they do so.

Cusotmers buying meat and fish over the counter will be given a sticker for their lunch boxes by the staff member behind the counter, which can then be scanned at the till.

Morrisons is also phasing out the use of black plastic trays by 2019, which are currently used for fresh meat and fish, in favour of recyclable alternatives. Reusable plastic containers will also be sold at a discounted price at Morrisons stores to encourage customers to bring their own when they go food shopping – in the same way they use bags for life.

The move follows the success of the Mail’s Banish the Bags campaign which lead to the imposition of the 5p plastic bag levy.

The charge helped to change shoppers’ habits and has cut the number of unrecyclable plastic bags handed out by 85 per cent over the past decade. Drew Kirk, fruit and vegetable director at Morrisons, said: ‘We’ve listened to customers concerns about using plastic bags for fruit and vegetables and that is why we are bringto ing back paper bags. There’s more work to do, but this step will mean we prevent 150million bags from being used in our stores every year.’ Morrisons is among a group of big retailers that have pledged eliminate all single use plastic packaging by 2025.

Currently 82 per cent of the plastic by weight in the supermarket’s packaging is recyclable, but to improve this Morrisons has signed up to the UK Plastics Pact.

The alliance of companies is the first of its kind in the world and has united household names including Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Coca Cola europe and nestle UK, in a bid to protect the environment. The members have committed to making 100 per cent of the plastic packaging they use reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

Waitrose will begin selling wine in a can for the first time today, following customer demands for more environmentally friendly packaging.

The £3.49 cans, which include an organic rose and shiraz, will contain 250ml, the size of a large glass of wine in a bar. Wine in a can has been a huge success in the US and Waitrose said it hopes to do the same in Britain, with the launch timed for festival season.

‘We listened to customer concerns’