Lidl to remove all plastic bags from fruit and vegetable sections.

The supermarket chain Lidls is to replace all of its plastic bags from its fruit and vegetable aisle in a rollout that is scheduled to take place throughout the year.

The plastic bags will be replaced by “100% biocompostable materials” in the company’s effort to reduce the ever growing plastic recycling problem.

The German company has expressed the pioneering nature of the initiative and maintains that the new bags will be made from 100% recyclable materials and will still be free to the customer, despite the cost of manufacture of the bags being four times higher than traditional bags. It therefore will cost the company over two million euros per year.

Alongside the new program, Lidl have already been introducing a reduction in product packaging, and the use of plastics in its bulk buy items which have been steadily replaced by paper and raffia.

It is all part of a wider program by the company to reduce plastic use by 25% by 2025.