Waitrose is set to follow the lead of supermarket competitor Morrisons by removing all multiple-use plastic bags from its stores.

The retailer said that it was planning to launch a trial replacing plastic bags for life later this year, according to The Grocer

The food arm of John Lewis and Partners said that, if successful, the trial would be extended to all stores and would remove up to 40 million plastic bags a year from circulation. 

The move follows news yesterday that supermarket giant Morrisons would be removing all plastic bags for life from eight of its stores in Bristol, Cambridgeshire, Scotland, Wales and Yorkshire and replacing them with paper alternatives. 

Morrisons said that if the move proved popular with customers, it would be rolled out across its entire supermarket estate, which would remove some 90 million bags a year from circulation – the equivalent of more than 3,500 tonnes of plastic annually. 

The retailer added that it would also be reintroducing its carrier bag recycling scheme for online deliveries, having initially stopped the service with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Customers utilising the recycling service can leave carrier bags outside their homes so that drivers can collect them at a safe distance.