Fruit and veg stickers have reached their sell-by date

FOR some they are a collector’s item, and for others just an annoyance when eating an apple on the go.

But now the fruit and vegetable sticker’s time is up, with supermarkets set to ditch them in a plastics pledge.

Britain’s major supermarkets, including Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Asda, have signed up to waste charity Wrap’s “Plastic Pact”, and are among 85 companies promising to get rid of a billion single-use plastic items by the end of 2020.

Retailers will no longer use pointless plastic items, including stickers on fruit and vegetables, and will provide recycling plants for crisp packets, frozen food wrappers and bread bags.

These materials account for 25 per cent of consumer plastic packaging, but only four per cent is recycled.

Plastic fruit and vegetable stickers were there to let cashiers know what the product was and how much it cost.

A Wrap spokesman said some supermarkets had already made the switch from fruit stickers, adding: “Some have provided additional training to staff and introduced visual cue cards at the till. Others have moved to compostable stickers. I’ve also seen previously that M&S were looking at lasering dates on to their avocados! So there is a range of alternatives being explored.”

Pact members have pledged to ensure that all plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable. To achieve this by the end of 2020, they must remove 21,000 tons of unrecyclable PVC and polystyrene.

When it was launched in 2018, just 65 per cent of packaging could be recycled. Since then, supermarkets have removed 19,000 tons of non-recyclable black plastic, as well as 3,400 tons of plastic packaging from fresh produce.

Morrisons have rolled out loose fresh produce areas to 60 stores with more to follow next year, while Waitrose “unpacked” trial stores provide refill stations for dry goods, wine, beer, and detergents. Items such as straws and cotton buds have been eliminated by the majority of members.

Marcus Gover, the Wrap chief executive, said: “These aren’t token gestures – changes like these require a huge amount of investment and innovation. It shows that our members are working collaboratively towards the same goal. Moving forward we face significant challenges, particularly around films and flexible packaging, increasing recycling, and development of re-use and refill models. These will be our top priorities as we work ... towards a world where plastic is valued and doesn’t pollute the environment.”