‘Naked’ cucumbers to cut down waste

CUCUMBERS will no longer be wrapped in plastic at Morrisons stores in a bid to reduce packaging.

The move will save 16million plastic sleeves each year and helps dispel the myth that ‘naked cucumbers’ cannot be kept fresh.

A Morrisons spokesman said: ‘Cucumbers have typically been sold in plastic to improve its life in the fridge and in the supply chain.

‘The plastic layer serves as an extra skin to prevent the cucumber’s dehydration which is important because they are typically more than 90 per cent water.

‘However, during the British growing season where cucumbers are very quickly transported from farm to store, Morrisons believes there will be enough shelf life for customers, who are looking for plastic to be removed.’

Half cucumbers will still retain a plastic wrapping because they would otherwise see a reduced shelf life. Supermarkets have dramatically changed their position on the use of packaging in the wake of the Daily Mail’s Turn The Tide On Plastic campaign and a public backlash following the Blue Planet 2 series, which highlighted the dangers of plastic pollution to the oceans and sea life. Earlier this year, the waste reduction organisation WRAP announced a UK Plastic Pact, which was signed by leading stores and brands committed to removing all single-use plastic packaging by 2025. A number of stores such as Morrisons, Iceland and Waitrose have already taken measures to eliminate the use of throwaway plastic.

For example, Morrisons is bringing back traditional brown paper bags for loose fruit and veg in its greengrocery areas, which will prevent 150million small plastic bags from being used every year. It also allows customers to use their own containers for fresh meat and fish at butcher and fishmonger counters. Iceland has pledged to remove all plastic from its own-label products by 2023, starting with ready meal trays.

Both Iceland and Morrisons are running trials on so-called reverse vending machines, where customers are given money-off rewards for returning plastic bottles.

The founder of the campaigning group, A Plastic Planet, Sian Sutherland, said: ‘We applaud Morrisons for taking the initiative in reducing their plastic packaging and blazing a trail for other supermarkets to follow, but why stop there?

‘Plastic has no place in food and drink, it makes little sense to wrap something as perishable as food in something as indestructible and long-lasting as plastic.’

‘Plastic has no place in food’