A FARM shop is doing its bit to reduce plastic waste and is urging customers to embrace the scheme.

Roots, in Northallerton, is promoting an initiative backed by one of their suppliers, Field Fare, to encourage the use of ‘bring your own’ tubs for their loose serve frozen products.

Field Fare is a pioneering brand which first started selling A Grade fresh frozen fruit and veg in a loose serve format 40-years-ago.

They have since grown to further offer baked and fish goods in loose serve too, which are scooped in precise, waste-reducing amounts into biodegradable bags.

They have started to actively encourage their stockists adopt the initiative and Katherine Brown at Roots Farm Shop was one of the first to support it.

She said: “As a family of farmers, we take the environment particularly seriously at Roots.

“We are reducing plastics and packaging wherever we can and part of that is our new Bring You Own container campaign, which we offer at both our meats counter and, in conjunction with our frozen food suppliers Field Fare, on our loose serve frozen produce.

“I’m very pleased to see our customers responding so enthusiastically and supportively – some are even bringing back the cartons that our salads are sold in to fill with other products, which is most satisfying. “Next year, we are looking into adding dried goods to the initiative and to be as sustainable as possible.”

Roots used the recent Recycle Week to publicise its green initiative by offering a free tea or coffee - in a compostable cup - to customers who brought their own containers to fill.

Field Fare managing director, Karen Deans, said: “Shockingly, a fifth of household waste is packaging - that’s five million tonnes of packaging in the UK every year - so it is great news that visionary retailers, like Katherine Brown, are starting to rally.”