Marks and Spencer supports shift towards reusable containers for fresh food

Marks and Spencer has become the first major retailer to introduce a reusable container incentive for fresh food-to-go at its Market Place counters, as part of its plan to reduce single-use packaging.

The new scheme will incentivise customers to bring their own reusable containers by offering a 25p discount on each meal.

M&S is aiming to encourage a change in consumer behaviour and reduce the use of disposable items on the high street.

Paul Willgoss, Director of Food Technology at M&S, said: “Our priority is to reduce single-use packaging and ensure any we do use can be recycled or reused, as we work towards our 2022 target for all our packaging to be widely recyclable, but we want to go a step further with the introduction of an incentive to encourage customers to switch to reusable containers.”

Trewin Restorick, CEO and Founder of Hubbub, said: “People are rightly concerned about the environment impact of single-use packaging. It is massively encouraging to see M&S become the first major retailer to offer customers a financial saving encouraging them to make an important change to their shopping habits.”

“We hope customers will respond positively and other retailers will follow this lead.”