Shoppers at one of Kent's biggest supermarkets are being asked to take home fresh meat and fish in their own re-usable containers.

Morrisons is re-introducing its refillable containers scheme as part of efforts to reduce plastic packaging across the company.

Butchers, fishmongers and deli staff will now ask each customer if they have brought their own container to be refilled, rather than automatically putting the items into single use packaging.

If they have, they will be given instead a sticky label that can then be scanned at the till to register the price of their chosen products.

The company says 2,000 tonnes of plastic a year could be saved if every customer used a refillable container for their counter purchases.

The supermarket is among a growing number to have made big announcements in the last few weeks about its plastic use.

Asda has once again removed the option online shoppers had throughout the pandemic of having groceries bagged using single-use carriers whilst the Co-op announced on Friday that it was to stop selling bags for life in stores nationwide in favour of 10p compostable carriers.

Morrisons originally introduced the refillable container scheme in 2018 but, like Asda, it had to be put on hold during the coronavirus pandemic.

It is one of a number of in-store initiatives Morrisons has unveiled to reduce plastic pollution, with other moves including ditching plastic carrier bags in favour of paper bags and using traditional paper bags for loose fruit and vegetables.

Morrisons is also promising cut-price deals across selected its meat, fish and deli counters to draw attention to the new system and will also be selling re-usable containers in Home aisles to encourage customers to come on board.

Natasha Cook, packaging manager at Morrisons, said: “Reducing plastic in our stores is an important part of our sustainability agenda and it really matters to our customers too. The service was very popular with our customers when it was first introduced before lockdown, and we’re pleased to see it return with some great value deals on our fresh, British quality products.”

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