Supermarkets have agreed to sell most fresh fruit and vegetables loose rather than packed in plastic, to help the environment.
All major supermarkets have signed up to guidelines by sustainability organisation Wrap to sell loose produce by 2025.
Apples, bananas, broccoli and cucumber will be among the first to be sold without plastic wrapping, The Grocer reports .
Other items that will soon be sold with no packaging include aubergines, avocados, carrots, onions and peppers.
Wrap thinks 80% of fruit and vegetables can be sold with no wrapping.
It estimates this will save more than 21,500 tonnes of plastic being thrown in the bin every year.
Wrap said that 80% of apples are sold in plastic packets, as well as 88% of cucumbers and 97% of grapes.
However, Wrap said ending plastic packaging for soft fruit is trickier as these are so easily damaged.
The new guidelines also call on supermarkets to stop putting 'best before' dates on produce, unless doing so can be proven to cut food waste.
Wrap also wants to see consumers educated on how refrigerating fruit and veg to below 5°C at home can make a massive difference to how long they last.
Many retailers are cutting down on the amount of plastic they use because so much of it takes hundreds of years break down and ends up being washed into the sea .
Tesco was the first supermarket to stop selling plastic bags, and last week also vowed not to sell plastic baby wipes in pledge to help the environment.
The supermarket chain is the UK’s largest supplier of the products and sells of 75 million packs of wet wipes a year.
Tesco will continue to stock i plastic-free wipes and those made by eco-friendly brands including Waterwipes and Rascal + Friends.
Last year London department store Harrods announced it would axe its classic green and gold plastic bags and bring in paper versions.
The upmarket West London store will take four million plastic bags a year out of landfill as they are replaced with 100% recyclable ones.
Meanwhile restaurants and takeaways will be banned from distributing plastic condiment sachets such as ketchup, mayonnaise and vinegar, under government plans unveiled in January .
Plastic plates, mini milk pots and popular extras such as salad dressing could also be banned across the UK, under plans being drawn up by the Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs.
The ban would follow on from one on plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds , which became illegal in most situations in 2020.
Environment Secretary George Eustace said last year evidence found the single-use packets ‘can cause considerable harm to the marine and terrestrial environment when disposed of incorrectly’.
More than 855 billion plastic sachets are said to be used around the world each year. It is believed they would take around 500 years to decompose.
