A NATIONAL supermarket will be the first to make a specific area of its store plastic free.

Morrisons, which has a branch in St James’s Street, Brighton, will become the first British supermarket to introduce plastic-free fruit and vegetable areas in its stores.

Customers will be able to choose from up to 127 varieties of fruit and veg – and buy them loose or put them in recyclable paper bags.

The move follows a ten-month trial in three Morrisons stores in Skipton, Guiseley and St Ives.

The trial showed that the amount of loose fruit and vegetables bought in these stores increased by an average of 40 per cent.

Customers will see an entire section of the fruit and veg department with no plastic.

But, there will be a neighbouring section where customers can still buy packaged veg, if they choose.

Drew Kirk, fruit and veg director at Morrisons said: “Many of our customers would like the option of buying their fruit and veg loose.

“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.”

Morrisons recently made changes that will remove 9,000 tonnes of “unnecessary or problematic” plastic each year.

This figure includes 174 million plastic bags removed from fruit and veg aisles, and 600 tonnes of unrecyclable polystyrene removed from branded food and drink products.

A further 1,300 tonnes of plastic will be removed as a result of the launch of paper carrier bags this month. The loose veg range includes carrots, potatoes and onions as well as more unusual seasonal varieties such as celeriac.

Fruit will include apples, pears and oranges, plus figs, persimmons and pomegranates.

The expansion of the range means that for the first time, customers will also be able to buy loose cauliflower, white cabbage and chestnut mushrooms.

Morrisons plastic reduction initiatives are detailed in its 2018-19 Corporate Responsibility Review.

The review also details that the group has reduced carbon emissions by 45 per cent since 2005.