Carrefour cotton mesh bags

Carrefour has introduced a greener alternative to plastic bags at its stores in Spain in a bid to cut packaging waste.

From this week, customers can purchase a 100 per cent cotton mesh bag to pack their fruits and vegetables, fish, meat and other fresh food.

Customers can buy the bags, which can be washed and reused, in packs of three units for €3.99.

Carrefour said this latest measure complemented its wider long-term strategy towards the reduction and eventual elimination of plastic.

Fruits and vegetables sold in the group’s Bio organic stores are already plastic free, while apples, pears and oranges sold under the retailer’s Quality and Origin label are now packed in sustainable materials such as cardboard and cellulose.

Furthermore, Canary Island bananas are no longer packed in plastic bags, and containers for olives and pickles have also been replaced with glass jars.

Carrefour said waste reduction was “an important challenge that requires a collective response”.