Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's anti-plastic campaign urges shoppers to return items to supermarket with protest notes

'Grab that annoying piece of plastic, write your message on it and drop it off at the supermarket it came from'

People are returning their plastic packaging to supermarkets as part of a new campaign aiming to highlight the threat that single-use plastics pose to the environment.

The campaign, named #OurPlasticFeedback, was launched on Monday’s episode of BBC One’s War on Plastic, in which presenters Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Anita Rani urged viewers to take a stand against major supermarkets and compel them to reduce their plastic packaging.

In order to participate, shoppers are encouraged to unwrap any plastic items at the till and return the packaging to the supermarket with a written note.

Several famous faces have already shared their contributions on social media, including Sir David Attenborough and Prue Leith, who shared an Instagram post of herself holding a piece of plastic packaging with a note that read: “Is this really necessary supermarkets? Bin the plastic please”.

Many members of the public have been sharing their contributions on social media too, returning plastic wrapping for British staples such as Baked Beans and tagging the supermarkets where they purchased them to hold them accountable.

“British staple! @Tesco @HeinzUK do the right thing and please don’t wrap in plastic!” one person tweeted.

Another added: “Dear #Tesco Stop wrapping our fruit and veg in plastic, all this plastic will be returned to you soon! Save our planet!”

The campaign launch comes after several major UK retailers signed the UK Plastics Pact, an initiative spearheaded by the charity Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) that aims to create a circular economy for plastics by ensuring that 100 per cent of plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

Many supermarkets are among the signatories, such as M&S, Tesco, ASDA, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose & Partners.

Several of them have already introduced measures to reduce their plastic output. For example, M&S has replaced plastic cutlery with alternatives made from FSC certified wood, Waitrose has committed to stop selling plastic cutlery by the end of this year and almost every retailer has vowed to eliminate plastic straws from sale.

You can read more about what supermarkets are doing to tackle plastic pollution and food waste here.