Lidl sells 5kg boxes of fruit and vegetables for £1.50

Lidl's new initiative is being piloted in 122 of its stores with the overall aim to cut food waste.

Its 'Too Good to Waste' boxes contain approximately 5kg of fruit and vegetables that are no longer considered at their best but are still perfectly good to eat.

They will go on sale first thing in the morning and be available for the first two hours of trading, at which point any unsold items will be donated to local causes via the supermarket’s food redistribution programme, Feed it Back.

Lidl posted on Facebook on Thursday afternoon: "A fruitful idea for cutting food waste: we're trialling new 5kg boxes of fruit and veg that is slightly damaged, but still perfectly good to eat, for just £1.50.

"It's being piloted in 122 of our stores, so if you come across any, let us know what you think."

If rolled out nationally, the boxes could save in the region of 10,000 tonnes of surplus fruit and vegetables each year.

Christian Härtnagel, CEO of Lidl UK, said: “Food waste is one of the most important topics that our industry is facing, and one that we are fully committed to tackling. This is why, in 2017, we set ourselves the ambitious target of reducing our food waste by 25 per cent across just three years.

"We’re proud that in just one year, our stores have managed to cut food waste by 13 per cent, however we recognise that there’s still a long way to go, to get where we need to be. We’re fortunate that our business model gives us the flexibility and agility to be creative and trial new approaches that can have a real, positive impact.

“Proportionately, we sell the most fruit and veg in the sector, but we know from our data that fresh produce is one of the biggest contributors to food waste in stores, so we’re excited by the difference our Too Good to Waste initiative will make.

"Not only will it help customers consider items that they might have previously dismissed, it will also provide an opportunity for them to make further savings."