Morrisons trials replacing plastic 'bags for life' with paper bags

Starting today, the supermarket will offer strong paper bags instead of reusable plastic ones in eight stores, and, if customers are happy with the change, it will bring these bags to all 494 stores.

Four of the stores involved in the trial are in Yorkshire, with four in Abergavenny, Bristol, Cambridgeshire and Paisley.

Single-use 5p carrier bags were removed from most major supermarkets in 2018, but Morrisons says some customers are still buying plastic 'bags for life', which are stronger and thicker. In some cases, it says there is evidence they are being used once before being binned.

The new paper bags will cost 30p – the same as the plastic ones do now – and have a similar capacity to the plastic bags. They will be able to carry weights of up to 16kg (the equivalent of 13 bottles of wine). 

The supermarket says it will also continue to offer jute, cotton and reusable woven bags in all stores, priced at £2.50, £1.50 and 60p respectively.

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