In an innovative move to reduce plastic waste, Tesco, Britain's largest supermarket chain, is trialling the use of laser etching on avocados to replace traditional barcode stickers.

The trial is being conducted in partnership with Westfalia Fruit, the UK's main avocado supplier based in Lincolnshire.

The high-powered lasers remove a minute section of the avocado skin's top layer, leaving a "tattoo" that displays information such as the fruit's size or variety for customers and cashiers. This process eliminates the need for plastic stickers, which can often be forgotten and left on when recycling household food waste.

Lisa Gilbey, Tesco's avocado buyer, expressed excitement about the potential environmental impact of the laser-etched avocados. "We're always looking for innovative ways to reduce the environmental impact of our products and cut down on plastic waste in the home through changes to our packaging," she said.

In addition to the laser etching, Tesco is also trialling the replacement of plastic tray packaging for two of its most popular avocado lines with cardboard containers that are easier to recycle.

If implemented across all Tesco stores, these initiatives could result in significant plastic waste reductions. According to Westfalia Fruit, a full roll-out could save nearly a million plastic stickers on loose, extra-large avocados and over 20 million pieces of plastic tray packaging from the twin-pack avocado alone, potentially increasing to 25 million pieces across the pre-packed range.

Graham Isaac, general manager of Westfalia Fruit, emphasised the company's commitment to environmental responsibility and reducing plastic waste, saying: "Westfalia Fruit continually seeks ways to improve our environmental performance and operate in a responsible manner, by focusing on priorities such as reducing and wherever possible, removing plastic from our packaging to contribute to solving the plastic waste challenge.”

The laser-etched avocado trial is currently taking place in around 270 Tesco stores in south-east England. If customer feedback is positive, the initiative will be rolled out across the supermarket chain's entire estate.

With Tesco selling nearly 70 million avocados annually and demand for the fruit growing by 15 per cent in the last year, the potential impact of these plastic reduction efforts is significant.

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