Asda is vowing to get rid of 5p plastic bags from sale by the end of this year in its campaign to cut down on plastic.

The supermarket said this week (February 5) it is committed to phasing out the ‘single use’ carrier bags from its shops by 2018 and bring in a donation initiative to good causes from its sales of ‘bags for life’.

It is also pledging to remove 10 percent of Asda-branded packaging over the next 12 months, remove all ‘single use’ cups and plastic cutlery from its offices this year and later all its stores and cafés by the end of 2019.

Asda’s president and chief executive Roger Burnley said: “I truly believe that when you serve 18 million people each week and have the ability to make a difference to them, you should do it.

“I want Asda’s customers to know that they can trust us to take the lead on the issues that really matter to them. So we have challenged ourselves to look at what more we can do to reduce the amount of plastic in our business, and within our industry as a whole.”

The goals were published in its ‘Plastic Unwrapped - Our pledge to use less and recycle more’ report.