In 2015, all shops and stores in England were required by law to charge 5 pence for single use plastic bags, in an attempt to reduce plastic pollution.
Now, the Co-op supermarket chain have jumped ahead of the game and are phasing out single use plastic bags entirely, and introducing an Eco-alternative.
The change will replace around 60 million plastic bags with the biodegradable alternatives, which will also be charged at 5 pence. The new replacements will also be able to be used to store food wasted for collection.
The new bags will be available within weeks in around 1,400 Co-op locations in England, Scotland and Wales where local food waste collection can collect the bags. Eventually, the bags will be available in all 2,600 locations, The Guardian reports.
The Co-op will also seek to make all of its store-brand packaging easy to recycle by 2023 and use at least 50 percent recycled plastic for bottles, trays and pots by 2021.
