Supermarket Asda is taking the next step in its efforts to reduce plastic use by introducing reusable fruit & veg bags and stripping all the plastic off its growing herbs range.
From today, customers nationwide will be able to purchase the reusable bags, which are made from 100% recycled plastic bottles and are machine washable. Priced at a market-leading £1 for three, the bags provide customers with an affordable, reusable alternative to single-use plastic fruit and veg bags.
In a supermarket first, Asda has also stripped plastic completely off its growing herbs range, a move that will save more than 45 tonnes of plastic a year. Through an innovation in the growing process, the herbs are now packaged in a soil plug and paper sleeve rather than a plastic plant pot and plastic sleeve. What’s more, the plants only cost 50p each.
Customers have praised the move on social media, with Instagram user Jess, @Plot_36, saying “I cannot tell you how happy I was to see Asda have made their herb plants completely eco friendly!”.
Another Instagram user, Lisa Hayler-Brown, @the_floral_dolly, said, “Finally we have no plastic and a selection of ‘growing herbs’ in a supermarket”
Helen Smale, Asda’s Senior Manager for Produce, said, “We know our customers are always looking at ways to reduce their plastic use and these bags are a great way to help them shift to a genuinely reusable option.
“We’re working hard, alongside our suppliers, to find ways to remove unnecessary plastic from Asda products, with the innovation in our new herbs range helping us take another step on our journey to use less and recycle more.”
Customers can now also see an additional number of loose produce lines including Braeburn Apples, Bramley Apples, Kiwis and Clementines, as Asda unwraps more of its products. It has already removed 6,500 tonnes of plastic – equivalent to more than 600 million plastic bottles - from its own brand range in a year and will make all of its packaging 100% recyclable by 2025.
In addition, it was the first supermarket to remove all single-use carrier bags from stores and grocery home shopping, eliminating an estimated 375m plastic bags from circulation each year.
