Asda scraps plastic bags for fruit and veg – and now you have to pay 30p or bring your own

ASDA is scrapping free plastic bags for fruit and veg, meaning shoppers now need to bring their own or pay 30p for a reusable one. 

The supermarket first started testing the removal of single-use bags in nine stores in September last year.

But Asda has now confirmed it’ll be making the change across all its stores as part of its bid to cut down on plastic waste.

Instead of a free, single-use plastic bag, the supermarket will provide a reusable 30p option made from recycled plastic bottles.

Shoppers can also bring their own bags to stores to save on buying one from the the grocer.

Asda says the new measure will remove 101million pieces of single use plastic from its shops each year.

The supermarket adds that the change also comes following a positive response from its trial, which it says saw an average of 30,000 bags sold each week.

The stores included in its trial were in Bridgend, Glasshoughton, Harrogate, Killingbeck, Middleton, Quedgeley, Swansea as well as two shops in York.

The announcement comes after Sainsbury’s ditched free plastic bags for fruit and veg in stores and replaced them with 30p versions.

Tesco has also axed plastic bags for online shopping deliveries and instead now delivers groceries in reusable green trays.

And in an update last year, Morrisons said it is replacing all plastic bags for life with paper ones that cost 30p.

We’ve asked Asda if plastic bags for fruit and veg have already been removed from all stores, or whether they’re being phased out from now.

Asda has more than 630 stores across the UK.

Dominic Edwards, director of produce at Asda, said: “We know that our customers and colleagues are really passionate about doing the right thing for the environment.

“This move is just another way we are helping them make sustainable choices, without compromising on the quality of our produce.

“Following some really positive feedback on our trial, we’re excited to roll out the removal of the plastic bags across all our stores.”

In the ongoing war on plastic, Brits will have to pay 10p for a plastic carrier bag in all shops from April next year.

A 5p charge was first brought in five years ago for supermarkets, but is now being doubled and extended to smaller stores too.

A ban on straws, cotton buds and coffee stirrers in England came into force last year, in a bid to tackle single-use plastic pollution.

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