Customers will notice a big difference next time they visit a Sainsbury’s bakery as the supermarket has introduced new packaging.

In a bid to save plastic, the new packaging is said to reduce over 560 tonnes of plastic a year.

The changes to pastries, doughnuts and baguettes from the in-store bakery will save plastic as they switch to paper.

Items including doughnuts and pastries were previously packaged in clam-shell style packaging, but they are switching to cardboard and paper.

Sainsbury’s said this move is a 90 percent plastic reduction, reducing plastic packaging by 414 tonnes annually.

Doughnuts are switching to card boxes with a small window and twin-pack pastries, as well as croissants and cinnamon swirls, are moving to paper bags.

In-store bakery bread will also see up to a 60 percent reduction in plastic through the removal of full plastic bags across loaves, baguettes and batons.

They have been replaced with recyclable paper bags with plastic windows, which is said to save 152 tonnes of plastic a year.

Customers can currently expect to see the changes in all stores over the coming months.

Sainsbury’s said the window on the new packaging can be easily separated from the box and paper bag.

This can then be recycled at any front-of-store recycling points at the supermarket. The card and paper can be recycled at home in kerbside recycling.

This is the latest change from the supermarket, following its recent decision to remove single plastics on mushroom punnets, saving around 775 tonnes of plastic annually.

Sainsbury’s was also the first retailer to switch all its kitchen and toilet roll packaging from plastic to paper, saving more than 480 tonnes a year.

Other supermarkets including Aldi are also working towards cutting their plastic usage, with a recent trial removing plastic packaging on bananas.