UK-based retailer Marks and Spencer (M&S) has decided to reduce the amount of plastic used in its packaging for snack products, as part of its ‘Project Thin Air’ campaign.

Under the campaign, the supermarket chain has redesigned the packaging of nearly 140 products to make them appear less bulky without reducing the content inside, reported The Guardian.

The campaign is expected to save nearly 75t of raw packaging material.

M&S packaging expert Laura Fernandez was quoted by the online publication as saying: “We’ve been working on this project for over a year and are really pleased with the results.

"We very much see this as the start of a much bigger piece of work and hope to bring equally impressive savings to other areas of the business too."

“We very much see this as the start of a much bigger piece of work and hope to bring equally impressive savings to other areas of the business too.”

The retailer's popcorn range has witnessed the largest decrease in size with a 37% reduction.

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M&S has also decreased the plastic in its salt and vinegar and ready-salted crisps packs by nearly 20% by substituting the original plastic with a thinner but strong film.

Last month, the company launched laser-printed avocados without disposable stickers in order to reduce paper waste.

The initiative, where the barcodes are inscribed onto the fruit, is expected to save 10t of paper and 5t of glue annually.

M&S is also working on a plan to make all its packaging ‘widely recyclable’ by 2022.