It doesn’t seem too long ago that supermarkets were giving out nothing but single-use plastic bags. We’ve come a long way since then, and Morrisons are now going even further by providing bags made from 100% recyclable paper for their fruit and veg sections.

This is no small trial run – paper produce bags can now be seen in all of the supermarket chain’s 493 stores. It’s a move that should really come as no surprise considering increasing concerns over the huge amount of plastic rubbish produced by traditional single-use plastic bags.

Morrisons was a launch signatory to the UK Plastics Pact, and produce director Drew Kirk underlines their commitment to meeting the new eco-friendly expectations held by their customers: “We’ve listened to customers’ concerns about using plastic bags for fruit and vegetables and that is why we are bringing back paper bags.”

The new bags look pretty traditional, but they’re actually made from recycled paper for added environmental benefits, and each one comes with a see-through paper strip to ensure customers and check-out staff can identify the produce inside at a glance. Morrisons claim this move will save 150 million plastic bags every year.

This isn’t even the only recent development that has seen supermarkets move further away from plastic bagging options. Shoppers have also been urged to bring Tupperware to supermarkets when buying meat and fish. Morrisons have responded by allowing customers to bring their own containers to Morrisons butchers and fishmongers. When they do, they’ll earn loyalty points as an incentive.

Of course, there’s still more plastic that needs to be eliminated – even Morrisons still sells multi-packs of fruit and veg in plastic bags. However, they’ve pledged to make all plastic recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025. Tesco joined the fight by removing “best before” dates from most of its fresh fruit and vegetable packs, reasoning that common sense is enough to tell people when produce is no longer good for eating.

By investing in paper bags for your business, or other alternatives to plastic packaging, you can help towards a worldwide goal of reducing the impact that plastic is having on our environment.