A year ago, Aldi stepped up its fight on plastic, opting to phase out black plastic trays on fresh produce lines, while replacing them with clear, easier-to-recycle products.
Now, the UK discounter is taking steps to do more in its latest trial — selling cabbages and cauliflowers free from plastic packaging in Scotland. The initiative include five vegetable lines: savoy cabbage, red cabbage, white cabbage, pointed cabbage and cauliflower.
“We’re working hard to reduce plastic, but we also need to ensure that reducing packaging doesn’t lead to unnecessary food waste,” says Fritz Walleczek, managing director of corporate responsibility at Aldi UK. “We’re hoping the outcome of this trial will be positive and something that we can roll out across the rest of the UK.”
The six-week trial will save a half tonne of plastic, the company estimates. If it opts to continue the scheme, Aldi says it could remove more than 110 tonnes of plastic wrapping a year from its fresh produce lines.
Aldi, the UK’s fifth-largest and fastest-growing supermarket (Kantar data, 12 weeks to 24th February), has joined a host of other UK chains in becoming more environmentally friendly. Since March 2018, Aldi has replaced more than 2,500 tonnes of plastic across its range with recyclable alternatives. The supermarket is working to achieve 100-percent recyclable, reusable or compostable packaging across its own-brand products by 2022.
