UK supermarket chain Morrisons is set introduce new paper carrier bags, as part of its efforts to eliminate unnecessary plastic from its stores.
Image: Morrisons will introduce new paper carrier bags across its stores. Photo: courtesy of Morrisons Ltd.
Initially, Morrisons’ Welsh stores will offer paper carrier bags to its customers. Later, the paper carrier bags will be launched at its English and Scottish stores in May.
Since January, Morrisons has trialed the paper bags at its eight stores and received good response form the customers.
The new bags are made in Wales by using paper sourced from sustainably managed forests, and they hold capacity to carry heavy weights up to 16kg.
Morrisons said the new bags are available at the prices 20p, and which is the same price charged for its standard plastic carrier bag.
The paper grocery bags, which can be reused and further recycled, are labeled as ‘Reusable Paper Bag’.
Morrisons said that it has evaluated the bag’s carbon footprint and it is equivalent to the standard plastic carrier bag.
The introduction of new paper carrier bags will help remove single use 5p carrier bags that led to 25% reduction in overall bag sales, as well as allow customers to bring their own containers to Morrisons’ Butchers and Fishmongers counters.
It will also help sell all loose fruit and vegetables in paper rather than plastic bags, and remove plastic packaging from multiple items such as plastic sleeves from cucumbers during the British growing season.
Morrisons group customer and marketing director Andy Atkinson said: “We are taking another meaningful step that will remove an estimated 1,300 tonnes of plastic out of the environment each year.
“Our customers have told us that reducing plastic is their number one environmental concern so introducing the paper bag across the nation will provide another way of reducing the plastic in their lives.”
In April 2018, Morrisons announced its plans to make all of its own brand packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025, in a bid to tackle plastic pollution.
As part of this effort, the firm allowed its customers to use their own containers for meat and fish from the Morrisons’ Market Street Butcher and Fishmonger counters.