High street shops in Britain urged to scrap paper receipts to reduce waste

High street shops in Britain are being urged to bin paper receipts and go electronic to reduce waste.

A campaign has been launched by 'Beat the Receipt' with the aim of making the traditional method optional by 2023.

Several stores including River Island, Holland & Barrett and Dunelm have already signed up to to the 'Paperless Pledge'.

This will see customers only offered a paper receipt if they ask - with digital receipts taking their place.

At present, many shops offer paper receipts as the norm - whether or not the customer wants one.

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Paper receipts could be a thing of the past (Getty Images)

The project is being backed by a number of industry bodies including the British Retail Consortium, British Independent Retailers Association and the Association of Convenience Stores.

Supermarkets are also being targeted by the campaign, with an open letter written to Britain's food shops.

Samantha Lind, campaigner at 'Beat The Receipt' said: "Paper receipts account for tens of thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions every single year, and most of them end up straight in the bin.

"This is the retail industry’s ‘plastic straw’ moment, we’ve woken up to the damage we’re doing to the environment and it’s time for drastic change.

"Customers want it, the retail industry can benefit from it, and our planet needs it."

Anthony Houghton, of Holland & Barrett, said: "As a wellness retailer, we’re always looking for ways we can reduce our impact on our planet.

"We removed paper receipts from online orders two years ago and introduced optional paper receipts last year.

"Customers have responded to the change really well, and so far we’ve seen a 30% reduction in receipts being issued in our stores.

"We anticipate this will increase further with the introduction of e-receipts later this year."

River Island is one of the stores to have signed up (PA)

The drive is also being supported by the bank Barclays, which is offering retailers the chance to become part of its digital receipt offering.

According to 'Beat The Receipt', 28,000 tonnes of carbon emissions could be saved each year if retailers commit to the change.

The group said the amount of paper in Britain's landfill sites could also be cut by 10,000 tonnes.