Supermarket chain, Waitrose, will remove black plastic trays from meat, fish and fruit and veg ranges by end of year and will stop selling packs of disposable straws from September.
The supermarket was among the first to stop selling items containing microbeads from September 2016 and to switch exclusively to paper-stem cotton buds.
Plastic straws will be replaced by non-plastic alternatives, it says.
The supermarket is also reducing its reliance on black plastic trays with the ultimate aim of no longer using them.
“Phasing out packs of single use straws and black trays shows how seriously we are taking the challenge of cutting down our use of plastics and reducing our impact on the environment.”
Waste processors find it difficult to detect the black plastic which means that they are difficult to recycle. From the end of 2018 all Waitrose own-label meat, fish and fruit and veg will no longer be in black trays.
The supermarket has already removed 65% of black plastic packaging from fresh fruit and vegetables.
Waitrose says it is committed to making all its own-label packaging widely recyclable, reusable, or home compostable by 2025.
Since 2009, it has reduced its overall packaging by nearly 50%.
Tor Harris, head of sustainability and responsible sourcing at Waitrose, said: “Phasing out packs of single use straws and black trays shows how seriously we are taking the challenge of cutting down our use of plastics and reducing our impact on the environment.”
The announcement comes as Theresa May last unveiled the UK Government’s 25-Year Environment Plan, which vows to eliminate “avoidable plastic waste” by 2042.
Supermarket chain, Iceland, announced since then that it would commit to eliminating plastic from its own brand, and UK food manufacturer, Cranswick, has pledged to reduce plastic from its operations by 50%.
