Marks & Spencer is trialling loose fruit and vegetables sales; this trial -at a store in London- comes as the retailer strives to remove 1,000 tons of plastic packaging by spring 2019. The retailer says 90 lines of loose fruit and vegetables are being sold over two aisles at its Tolworth store in southwest London.

Hard fruit and vegetables like potatoes and bananas will be for sale along with more perishable items such as soft fruits and berries, which will be sold in compostable punnets.

The chain has removed sell-by dates from the products as part of the trial - and a team of greengrocers is helping customers pick and weigh items, as well as offering advice on how to preserve fresh produce and reduce food waste.

News.sky.com quoted Louise Nicholls, the chain's Head of Food Sustainability, calling the experiment "an important milestone in our plastic reduction journey". She added: "Our plan is to create long-term impact in the future using tangible insights from the Tolworth store trial."

The retailer has already reduced its plastic use considerably by phasing out 75 million pieces of plastic cutlery and two million straws as it strives to remove 1,000 tons of plastic packaging by spring 2019.