Five things you need to know about the new plastic-free poppy

The Royal British Legion's iconic red poppy has been pinned to the British public in Remembrance since 1921.

But now, it has had a modern refresh, with the latest iteration of the poppy being plastic-free and recyclable.

Here are five things you need to know about the latest remembrance poppy.

• Remembrance poppies undergo green makeover to become plastic-free
• Remembrance poppies to be made entirely plastic-free and 'planet-friendly'
• Giant poppy display created on pyramids overlooking motorway

Three years in the making

The Royal British Legion said it has been developing the plastic-free poppy for three years.

It is part of efforts to become more sustainable and use less single-use plastic in its products.

This means the plastic centre cap and stem are no more, with the new plastic-free centre embossed with the words 'Poppy Appeal'.

100% paper and coffee cup offcuts

The poppy is now made completely of paper and produced from a blend of renewable fibres from responsible sources – with these fibres capable of being recycled as part of household collections.

The RBL also said 50% of the paper for their poppies comes from offcuts created when making paper coffee cups.

The Scottish poppy, which is a four-petal poppy rather than two, is also plastic-free and recyclable. 

40% reduction in emissions

The RBL, which produces 170,000 poppies a day to meet the demands ahead of Remembrance Sunday, said research and analysis from University College London scientists suggests the new design could reduce emissions by 40%.

Fastening and pricing

The new poppies can be fastened with a pin at the new paper stem, worn in a buttonhole or a stick-on version is now available.

There are three iterations of the paper poppy, priced at £2, £5 and £10.

Latest redesign

While this is the first redesign of the poppies since the mid-1990s, there have been more than 10 versions of the poppy throughout the years.

This includes hand-crafted red silk poppies with wire stems in the 1920s and an 'austerity poppy' used in the Second World War.

The RBL will still be selling old plastic poppies to clear the remaining stock – these can be recycled at Sainsbury's supermarkets.

The British public will be able to buy the plastic-free version from thousands of volunteers across the UK or from major supermarkets from Thursday.