Environment

Waitrose is trialling solid film plastic packs for milk, as an alternative to traditional bottles, to reduce the amount of plastic in the waste stream.

The one-litre "eco paks" use 75% less plastic, and the supermarket estimates that if all milk in the UK was sold in this format, it would save some 100,000 tonnes of plastic each year.

Around 180 million pints of milk are consumed each week in the UK. To go with the new format, Waitrose is selling a refillable milk jug, which costs £1.99.

Waitrose dairy buyer Jane Hills said: “We are always looking for ways to reduce packaging, and the milk jug is a perfectly simple replacement for polybottles.”

The "eco pak" is being produced in conjunction with Welsh organic milk farming group Calon Wen and costs 91p for a litre of milk.

Waitrose is currently testing in 21 stores – most of which are in London – and has plans to roll it out across the country.