Monday 7 September 2020

Asda to trial reusable fruit and veg bags to tackle plastic pollution

Asda has launched a trial to remove single-use plastic fruit and veg bags from its stores in a bid to tackle plastic pollution.

The programme will run in nine stores initially and is forecast to save around 141 tonnes of plastic every year, which equates to more than 3.5 million bags.

Single-use plastic bags will be replaced by reusable alternatives, priced at 30p each.

Kevin Patel, Director of Produce at Asda, said: “This is a really exciting step in our journey as we continue to look at innovative ways we can reduce unnecessary plastic from across the business and meet our target of reducing own brand plastic by 15% by 2021.

"We know that our customers and colleagues are really passionate about sustainability and we want to make it as easy as possible for them to do their bit for the environment, without having to compromise on quality."

The British supermarket giant recently launched the first 100% recyclable blueberry punnet, which is predicted to recycle 5.5 million film lids.