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Waitrose remove 'pointless plastic' from multi-packs as part of trial to cut down on waste

Matt Alexander/PA Wire
Matt Alexander/PA Wire

Waitrose is removing plastic wrapping from multi-buy cans as part of a trial to cut down on waste.

Customers will still be able to buy goods at a cheaper multi-pack price and the discount will be applied at the till.

The supermarket introduced the pilot after customers raised concerns about single-use plastic, which cannot be recycled.

The trial will take place in 17 shops and affect items including Waitrose baked beans, chopped tomatoes, plum tomatoes and sweetcorn.

If successful, the grocer will extend the scheme across more product lines.

Karen Graley, packaging manager at Waitrose, said: "We know shoppers like the convenience of buying a few cans at a time as store cupboard essentials but we want to remove single-use plastic wherever we can.

"By selling the cans loose but at multi-buy prices, we'll be able to pass the cost-saving on to customers without passing on the plastic."

Greenpeace welcomed the move, which would save 18 tonnes of plastic from going to landfill, and praised the retailer for not swapping to "problematic" cardboard

Fiona Nicholls, ocean plastics campaigner for Greenpeace UK, added: "This is another good move from Waitrose.

"The plastic film on multi-packs is almost always unrecyclable and is a prime example of pointless packaging.

"We're particularly pleased Waitrose has opted to sell these products loose rather than swapping plastic for cardboard.

"Switching one throwaway item for another makes no sense, and amounts to chopping down forests to save the oceans.

"Other supermarkets should follow suit and ditch multi-packs without delay."