Morrisons Removes Produce Packaging

BRADFORD, United Kingdom—Morrisons will become the first supermarket chain to ban plastic packaging from its stores, The Scotsman reports. Customers can buy up to 127 kinds of vegetables and fruit individually or use recyclable paper bags. A section still will have prepackaged produce.

The move comes after a nearly year-long pilot at three British stores where the number of loose produce purchased jumped an average of 40%. The “buy bagless” fruit and vegetable initiative will save an estimated 3 tons of plastic weekly as it rolls out to 60 stores this year.

“Many of our customers would like the option of buying their fruit and veg loose,” said Drew Kirk, director of fruit and vegetables for Morrisons. “So we’re creating an area of our greengrocery with no plastic where they can pick as much or as little as they like. We’re going back to using traditional greengrocery and we hope customers appreciate the choice.”

Meanwhile, Whole Foods Market will say goodbye to plastic straws by July 2019 and replace its rotisserie chicken containers with plastic bags that use 70% less plastic than the hard packaging, according to a report in Progressive Grocer.

The changes come after the Amazon-owned grocery chain reduced the size of plastic produce bags earlier this year. When combined, the three initiatives will reduce about 800,000 pounds of plastic from the environment annually, the company said.  

“For almost 40 years, caring for the environment has been central to our mission and how we operate,” said A.C. Gallo, president and chief merchandising officer, Whole Foods Market. “We recognize that single-use plastics are a concern for many of our customers, team members and suppliers, and we’re proud of these packaging changes ... We will continue to look for additional opportunities to further reduce plastic across our stores.”

Also, Walgreens and Kroger will pilot a program to give customers the option of purchasing items in reusable packaging, CNN Business reports. The two merchants will partner with Loop for the test in Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.

The delivery-type service allows customers to use the products, then have Loop pick up the empty containers from their front porch or return to participating retailers. Customers pay a deposit to ensure packaging is returned.

“Innovative collaborations with partners like Loop are critical to solving the complex issue of reducing single-use plastics,” said Lauren Brindley, Walgreens group vice president of beauty and personal care. “Our customers look to us to innovate so that together we can reduce waste and increase re-use.”

Sustainability