A major retailer has introduced a scheme to encourage customers in the borough to cut down on single-use packaging.

M&S Canary Wharf Simply Food is offering customers a 25p discount off each meal if they bring their own reusable containers for lunch-to-go at its Market Place counters.

M&S aims to encourage a change in consumer behaviour and reduce the use of disposable items on the high street, as new research by IGD reveals the food-to-go sector across the UK is set to grow by 26.4 per cent by 2024.

M&S director of food technology Paul Willgoss said: "Our priority is to reduce single-use packaging and ensure any we do use can be reused or recycled, as we work towards our 2022 target for all our packaging to be widely recyclable.

"Food-to-go is a growing market; so finding solutions in this space is an important part of our wider plan."

The new scheme is available at stores with Market Place, which offers a variety of hot and cold lunch-to-go options.

The existing single-use containers used at Market Place are widely recyclable and primarily made from Forestry Stewardship Council certified cardboard with a plastic lid.

To support the new scheme, M&S is selling a range of clip storage containers from £4 at the Market Place counters.

M&S already offers a 25p incentive for hot drinks served in reusable coffee cups.

Environmental charity Hubbub founder and CEO Trewin Restorick said: "People are rightly concerned about the environmental impact of single-use packaging.

"It is massively encouraging to see M&S become the first major retailer to offer customers a financial saving encouraging them to make an important change to their shopping habits.

"We hope customers will respond positively and other retailers will follow this lead."