BRADFORD-based Morrisons has today pledged to become the first supermarket to remove plastic bags from all of the bananas sold in its stores. 

Bananas are the second most commonly bought product in the retailer's stores. 

From today, new paper bands will start to replace the bags that currently package
some bananas.

This will mean that 45 million single-use plastic bags (180 tonnes of plastic) will be removed from Morrisons stores a year.

It follows a successful 12-week trial which has removed over two million pre-packed plastic bags to date. 

The new strengthened paper bands, made from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified paper, will ensure that banana bunches remain intact.

The ban is part of Morrisons drive to reduce plastic and revert back to traditional grocery
packaging methods.

The supermarket recently launched a glass milk bottle trial in which bottles of milk are delivered directly to its supermarkets by local dairy farms.

Once returned by customers, the bottles are collected, sanitised and can be reused for ten years or more.

Morrisons banana buyer Elio Biondo said: “Bananas have their own packaging - their skins.

"They also grow in bunches which generally means they don’t need bagging together.

"So a simple sturdy paper band is the ideal alternative. In trials the quality of the bananas has remained the same, so this switch out of plastic is a no-brainer.”

Morrisons has committed to a 50 per cent reduction across its own brand primary plastic
packaging by 2025. Initiatives introduced over the last 12 months will remove 8,000 tonnes of unnecessary or problematic plastic each year.