M&S are trialling over 90 lines of plastic-free loose fruit and veg in stores as they look to remove 1,000 tonnes of plastic packaging by spring this year.
The retailer has also hired trained greengrocers to offer customers insight and advice on selecting fresh produce at the Tolworth store where the trial has been launched.
M&S say the range extends beyond hard fruit and veg such as potatoes and bananas to more fragile offerings such soft fruit, which will be sold in compostable punnets.
The in-store greengrocers will also provide tips on how to preserve fresh produce and prevent food waste at home, with “best before” labels also being removed from fresh produce as part of the trial.
Louise Nicholls, Head of Food Sustainability, said: “We’re proud to launch a series of market-leading initiatives to help our customers take home less plastic. We know our customers want to play their part in cutting out plastic, while as a business our goal is to become zero-waste by 2025. That’s why we’re working hard to reduce the amount of plastic packaging we use without compromising on food quality and contributing to waste.
“Our trial at Tolworth is an important milestone in our plastic reduction journey and bringing back the traditional greengrocer will play a key part in educating our customers. Our plan is to create long-term impact in the future using tangible insights from the Tolworth store trial.”
In tandem with the three-month Tolworth trial, M&S has committed to launching further lines of loose produce and plastic alternatives to all of their UK stores, which it estimates will save 580 tonnes of plastic waste over two years.
The plan will include replacing plastic bags with paper ones and removing plastic barcode stickers in favour of eco-friendly ones.
M&S’ scheme is part of their aim to become a zero-waste business by 2025. All of M&S’ packaging will be “widely recycled” by 2022. The company is also a signatory of Wrap’s UK Plastics Pact, which is aiming to eliminate single-use plastics by 2025.
The news follows quickly from M&S naming a further 17 stores slated for closure as part of ongoing efforts to restructure the business.
Sacha Berendji, M&S's retail, operations and property director, said: 'Proposing to close stores is never easy, for our colleagues, customers or the local community, but it is vital for the future of M&S.
'Where we have closed stores, we are continuing to see an encouraging number of customers choosing other nearby locations and shopping on M&S.com.'
