Iceland ditches plastic packaging for its bananas
Sky News
12/09/2018
© PA
Iceland's pre-packaged bananas will no longer be wrapped in plastic
Iceland has announced it is starting to stop selling bananas in plastic packaging - and is urging other supermarkets to do the same.
The retailer is trialling the use of recyclable paper bands for pre-packaged bananas in three of its stores, and an additional 120 branches will follow in the coming days.
A national rollout is planned by the end of the year, with the supermarket claiming this will eventually save 10 million plastic bags a year.
Richard Walker, Iceland's managing director, said: "People have become so used to buying their products wrapped in plastic, or indeed using plastic bags for loose produce, and this has to stop if we are to turn down the tap on plastics.
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"Our customers support our move to reduce single-use plastic and we are pleased to share this important milestone, with many more to come."
The supermarket has committed to eliminating plastic from all of its own-label packaging by 2023.
Its newly packaged bananas are the first product in any major British supermarket to feature the Plastic Free Trust Mark, which was launched by campaign group A Plastic Planet earlier this year.
Last month, Waitrose replaced plastic packaging on its Duchy Organic bananas with a sticky band, with the supermarket estimating the change would save eight tons of plastic a year.
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