Supermarkets are charging shoppers up to 44 per cent more for loose fruit and veg rather than bagged items.
An investigation by The Sun revealed lots of items cost customers at Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda and Morrisons more if they were not packaged, with only 39 per cent of loose items cheaper.
It found Asda had only three loose products were cheaper, while less than half of Tesco's fruit and veg was cheaper to buy loose, while it was 50/50 at Sainsbury's.
Meanwhile Morrisons only offers online shoppers the choice to buy peppers loose or packaged - and a pack of three was 5p more expensive to buy free of plastic.
In Sainsbury's despite dropping prices of loose produce in response to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's War on Plastic TV show, filmed in Bristol, it was found a pack of five lemons were 70p cheaper to buy in the plastic mesh netting, costing 80p compared to loose ones that cost £1.50 for five.
Meanwhile, Asda charges £1.65 for three loose peppers and 99p for ones that are packaged in plastic.
It's worth noting that some items were cheaper to buy loose though.
Shoppers could save up to 54p on five pears by ditching plastic at Sainsbury's, 30p on bananas at Asda and 25p on 500g of leeks at Tesco.
A spokesperson for the British Retail Consortium, told The Sun said: "Packaged fruit and vegetables can sometimes be cheaper because products are bought in bulk and there's less handling and waste involved.
A Sainsbury’s spokesman said: "The majority of our loose fruit and vegetables are already cheaper than the comparable packaged product and we will continue to look at where we can make further reductions."
A spokesperson for Tesco says it removed plastic packing where possible, unless it helps stop food waste when it will look at using recyclable materials.
For the latest news in and around Bristol, check back on Bristol Live's homepage.
