A supermarket has issued a message to its customers in a bid to cut down on food waste. Co-op will be introducing a label to its own-brand milk asking customers to freeze it to extend its shelf-life and help with living costs.

Data shows more than £150m worth of milk is wasted each year, Lancashire Live reports. This is the equivalent to 70,000 tonnes.

Another survey also showed that UK homes throw away almost 100 billion plastic items each year. Around 250,000 people took part in the survey and results showed that each househould threw away an average of 66 pieces of plastic packaging a week.

Co-op hopes that its new campaign will help cut down on food wastage. The message on Co-op milk bottles will read: “Don’t waste me, freeze me, in a suitable, clean container, then defrost in the fridge, use within 24 hours.”

Catherine Dishington, environment and sustainability manager at Co-op, said: “We’re committed to reducing our impact on the planet and we’re trying to help our customers and members make small changes that collectively, can make an impact.

“Freezing food is one of the easiest ways to make the most out of your weekly shop and prevent food wastage but not everyone knows that it’s perfectly safe to freeze milk. We hope that by having this message on pack it will not only save customers some money, it should also help them to throw away less.”