Aldi Ireland has announced that more than 95% of it’s own-brand products now feature recyclable packaging.
The news follows the Government’s announcement that PE and PP film can now be recycled in Ireland.
Over the past two years, Aldi has worked with its Irish suppliers to introduce new, innovative, sustainable packaging solutions that has resulted in over 2,150 tonnes of virgin plastic being removed from its 148 stores nationwide.
The supermarket has also replaced over 930 tonnes of non-recyclable packaging materials with recyclable alternatives since 2019.
Aldi said it is on schedule to meet its target that 100% of its own-brand product packaging will be recyclable, reusable, or compostable by the end of 2022.
Commenting on the progress made, John Curtin, Aldi group buying director, said, “The positive changes we are making everyday to our product packaging reflect the demand from our customers to shop more sustainably.”
“We would like to thank all of our Irish suppliers who have worked tirelessly through out all phases of our plastic reduction strategy. We know we still have more to achieve, but this is another important milestone for the business,” he added.
In the past 12 months, Aldi has introduced a number of measures to drive plastic reduction.
Successes include:
- Becoming the first retailer to launch new home compostable trays made from sugarcane across all its multi-award winning premium Specially Selected Irish steaks range.
- Becoming the first retailer in Ireland to fully remove black plastic from core food ranges, removing 410 tonnes of difficult to recycle plastic from stores.
- Becoming the first retailer in Ireland to introduce 100% recycled PET water bottles to its own-label water range, a change which affects more than 30 million water bottles each year.
- Becoming the first retailer in Ireland to introduce 100% recyclable packaging to its own-brand fresh bread range, removing over 18 tonnes of plastic.
- Moving all 1L milk cartons to fully renewable plant-based material.
Recently, Aldi replaced all single-use plastic straws from its juice range with paper straws, removing over four million single-use pieces of plastic.
It also moved from non-recyclable shrink-wrap to 100% recyclable card packaging on multipack soft-drink cans, removing 2.7 tonnes of non-recyclable plastic annually.
For further information on the Government’s announcement concerning the recycling of soft plastics, click here.
2021 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. For more packaging news click here. Click sign up to subscribe to Checkout.
