Waitrose announced it was implementing a surcharge last month, of 25 fils per plastic bag – in a big to reduce plastic consumption in the supermarkets.

And today, the chain announced it has seen a 74% reduction in plastic bag output – selling 5,728 bags in two weeks.

The chain announced the move, which was implemented on June 16, across five Abu Dhabi stores: Waitrose Etihad Towers, Waitrose Sun and Sky Reem Island, Waitrose Al Zeina, Waitrose Saadiyat Beach Community and Waitrose Eastern Mangroves.

There’s also a recycling programme for plastic bags

Shoppers can deposit used plastic bags for other shoppers to reuse, and will be rolled out across all Waitrose stores.

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It’s a good start, hopefully more supermarkets implement these methods

Zoom marketstores have reverted to using brown paper bags instead of plastic too.

It follows International Plastic Bag Free Day – which is today.

Read: 10 Ways You Can Help Reduce The Terrifying Amounts Of Plastics In The World’s Oceans