Tesco begins plastic-free trial for selection of fruit and vegetables

Loose versions of 45 products will be sold in Extra stores in Watford and Swindon

Monday 25 March 2019 18:06 GMT

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Tesco is launching a trial to remove a selection of plastic-wrapped fruit and vegetables in a bid to cut down on packaging waste.

From Monday 25 March, the UK supermarket will run its month-long pilot programme at two of its Extra stores, in Watford and Swindon.

The trial will see the company remove plastic packaging from 45 food products where loose alternatives are available.

The items include apples, onions, mushrooms, peppers, bananas and avocados.

The news comes a year after the supermarket chain announced it would ban hard-to-recycle plastic packaging by 2019 and make all packing full recyclable by 2025.

Ways to reduce your single-use plastic

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1/6Ways to reduce your single-use plastic

Ways to reduce your single-use plastic

Plastic water bottle for a reusable beverage container

Instead of continually buying drinks in plastic bottles you can switch to a reusable beverage container and reduce your single-use of plastics. Selfridges' Bobble 550ml filtered water bottle costs £12.95 and includes a replaceable carbon filter that filters water as you drink, removing chlorine and organic contaminants in the process. You can buy it from selfridges.com

Getty/Selfridges

Ways to reduce your single-use plastic

Coffee cup for a Travel coffee mug

It is estimated that the UK throws away around 2.5bn disposable coffee cups a year and almost all are incinerated, exported or sent to landfill because their plastic lining makes them expensive to recycle. The new Latte Levy in the UK means there will now be a 25p charge on every disposable coffee cup bought by consumers. Pret A Manger announced that it will double its discount to 50p in an effort to reduce waste. By swapping to a reusable cup you will be able to help cut the cost of disposable coffee cups. This Keep Cup Brew, cork edition, travel cup in Fika is just one of the many available to purchase. It fits under most commercial coffee machines, is splash-proof and ideal for transporting your coffee whilst on the go. You can buy this particular cup for £19.99 from trouva.com.

Getty/Trouva

Ways to reduce your single-use plastic

Plastic bags for reusable cloth bags

An eco-friendly alternative to an ordinary plastic bag is this lightweight shopping bag. It comes with a practical pillowcase pocket and features a black and white ink splatter design. Convenient and durable it also has a matte black spring clip to attach it where you need it. You can buy this from paperchase.co.uk for just £5.00.

Getty/Paperchase

Ways to reduce your single-use plastic

Coffee pods for a pot of coffee

Cut your plastic coffee pod usage with a cafetiere. This Barista and Co, 3 Cup Gold Cafetiere, from Habitat offers a simple way to brew and serve in style. Made from borosilicate glass and plated stainless steel with an ergonomically designed handle, the cafetiere is built to last and a pleasure to use; a fine metal filter produces a smooth coffee that retains its natural oils. You can buy it for £30 from habitat.co.uk.

Getty/Habitat

Ways to reduce your single-use plastic

Balloons for eco-friendly decorations

Instead of using plastic balloons at your party try swapping them for some eco-friendly bunting. Handmade in Scotland, the bunting comprises thirteen brightly coloured pennants which spell out the words 'Happy Birthday', and uses lettering that has been printed onto 100 per cent recycled card. Included is 11ft of natural jute twine to hang the pennants on, and everything comes packaged in a cello bag. You can buy this bunting from Little Silverleaf on notonthehighstreet.com for £12.50.

Getty/notonthehighstreet

Ways to reduce your single-use plastic

Plastic straw for a reusable bamboo one

Swap plastic straws for reusable ones made of bamboo. These straws are handmade in Bali and crafted by local balinese artisans. Made of organic and natural materials they are the best eco-friendly alternative to plastic, steel or glass straws. You can purchase them from Bali Boo on Amazon.co.uk for £13.99.

PA/Bali Boo/Amazon

Sarah Bradbury, director of quality at Tesco, said: “We want to remove as much plastic as we can from our products, only using what is necessary to protect and preserve our food.

Closeup side view of a late 20's couple buying some vegetables at a local supermarket. (iStock)

“We hope this trial proves popular with customers. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the results, including any impact on food waste.”

Tesco isn’t the only supermarket in the UK to focus its efforts on improving its environment impact in recent months.

In January, Morrisons announced it would raise the cost of its plastic bags to 15p and introduce a new paper version in a two-month trial aimed at reducing plastic use across the company.

The same month saw Marks & Spencer launch more than 90 lines of loose fruit and vegetables of plastic packages in a trial which also welcomed trained greengrocers in store to help customers.

In February, supermarket chain Iceland also announced its plans to bring back the traditional greengrocer with packaging-free food and vegetables as part of its efforts to eliminate plastic entirely by 2023.

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According to a report in November 2018, Britain's top 10 supermarkets are flooding the planet with 810,000 tonnes of single-use plastic every year.

This is in addition to over 1.1 billion single-use bags, 958 million “bags for life” and 1.2 billion plastic bags for fruit and vegetables, reports the Checking Out on Plastics report by the Environmental Investigation Agency and Greenpeace UK.

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