Only sturdy paper bags are available in the Skipton branch of Yorkshire supermarket Morrisons from today as part of a trial.
The chain says if the trial - running just in Skipton plus 7 other stores - is successful, it will be rolled out to all 494 of its supermarkets and save 90 million plastic bags annually.
David Potts, Morrisons’ chief executive, said: “We believe customers are ready to stop using plastic carrier bags as they want to reduce the amount of plastic they have in their lives and keep it out of the environment. We know that many are taking reusable bags back to store and, if they forget these, we have paper bags that are tough, convenient and a reusable alternative.”
The paper bags can carry up to 16kg and holds a similar number of items to the plastic versions.
Skipton was one of the first branches of Morrisons to introduce paper bags last year, and is now among the first to no longer offer plastic bags for life.
The company says one in three of its customers have switched to using paper grocery bags since they were provided as an option.