MORE than 60 Co-op food stores across Devon, including ones in Holsworthy, Hatherleigh and Okehampton, are at the fore of the retailer’s move to ditch single-use plastics.

They aim to to replace around 60-million single-use plastic bags UK-wide with compostable carriers.

Co-op’s food stores in Stanhope Square in Holsworthy, Bridge Street in Hatherleigh and Market Street in Okehampton, will be among the first to offer the community retailer’s not-for-profit compostable bags.

The bags can be turned into peat-free compost along with household food waste, and are approved for home composting.

They are priced at 5p, the same price as a conventional single-use plastic one.

Shoppers who have forgotten their bag-for-life can use the compostable bags to carry shopping home, which can then have a secondary use as food waste caddy liner.

The bags are only available in areas where the local authority accepts them as part of household food waste collections.