Morrisons to stop selling plastic carrier bags

Morrisons has said it will remove all plastic carrier bags from its stores over the next year.

The supermarket chain will switch from offering plastic “bags for life” to a paper alternative.

Morrisons says the move will make it the first UK supermarket to stop using plastic carrier bags completely.

In recent years, all supermarkets have tried to cut plastics use. Waitrose is planning its own trial to remove bags for life later this year.

Morrisons said the removal of the plastic bags for life would begin in Scotland this month, followed by England and Wales over the course of the next 12 months.

It follows a successful trial in eight of its stores last year. Morrisons has almost 500 supermarkets nationwide.

Morrisons’ chief executive, David Potts, said: “We have been listening hard to our customers over the past year and we know that they are passionate about doing their bit to keep plastics out of the environment.

“Removing all of the plastic bags from our supermarkets is a significant milestone in our sustainability programme.”

Almost 100 million plastic bags will be removed in total, saving 3,200 tonnes of plastic a year, according to Morrisons.

Morrisons says the reusable paper bags will cost 30p each and are recyclable, water and tear resistant. It says the bags can hold up to 16kg – or 13 bottles of wine, the same as a plastic bag for life.

Paper bags will be sold alongside string, jute, cotton and reusable woven bags, which are priced between 75p and £2.50.

Single-use 5p carrier bags were removed from Morrisons in 2018.