Waitrose has announced plans to scrap 40 million single-use plastic bags per year by removing them from deliveries and in-store collections.
The grocer revealed it is ditching its 10p bags ‘Bag for Life’ in all major stores, which costs 10p and instead will replace them with fully-recyclable 50p reusable bags, made from recycled materials.
The move comes as Waitrose revealed 10p bags were increasingly being used once, instead of multiple times as intended.
READ MORE: Waitrose ‘shooting themselves in the foot’ with delivery fee
The change will come into effect from September 27, the same day that into-home deliveries will be allowed again.
If preferred, customers can still bring their own shopping into their home in crates provided, or have it brought to their doorstep by the delivery driver.
The news comes as the Co-op announced it will remove all plastic bags-for-life from its 2600 stores in a bid to reduce plastic waste.
The supermarket said many customers are now regularly buying bags for life to use just once, leading to an increase in plastic production.
“Increased use of bags for life has led to a sharp rise in plastic use,” Co-op Food chief executive Jo Whitfield said.
“With over 1.5 billion bags sold each year by retailers, this remains a massive issue for our industry as many shoppers are regularly buying so-called bags for life to use just once and it’s leading to a major hike in the amount of plastic being produced.”
with PA Wires
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