A PETITION urging UK supermarkets to ditch single use plastic packaging has gained over one million signatures.

Created by environmental organisation Greenpeace, the appeal follows the announcement by supermarket Iceland that its own-brand products will be going plastic-free.

The average plastic bag takes 20 years to break down, plastic bottles 45 years and when they finally break down it’s unclear how long the microplastics remain in the ocean.

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However, what is known is that sealife is ingesting microplastics, turtles, whales and other animals have been discovered to have micro plastics inside their body when they die.

UK supermarkets currently produce 800,000 tonnes of plastic packaging annually, a third of which is either non-recyclable or difficult to recycle according to social enterprise Which?

Well on the way to reaching its two million signature target, the petition hopes to encourage other British stores to follow Iceland’s lead.

To add your name, see secure.greenpeace.org.uk/page/s/plastic-free-supermarkets.