Lidl Ireland & Northern Ireland have announced it is set to become the first large nationwide supermarket to establish a circular economy strategy, helping to 'fuel its logistics chain using food waste from its 209 stores on the island'.
In the Republic, Lidl said it is building on its longstanding partnership with Trim-based Food Surplus Management (FSM), who will collect the retailer’s food waste and customer’s recycling deposits directly from their stores and three regional distribution centres across the region.
The food waste will then be converted to renewable bio-methane and used to fuel the fleet responsible for collecting such waste from Lidl’s stores and regional distribution centres across the country, reducing carbon emission per truck by up to 93%, the discounter said.
In addition, FSM will collect soft and rigid plastics from the retailer’s stores including customer’s deposits and recycle them to make items such as garden furniture, pallets, and flower pots, closing the loop for a more sustainable future, it added.
Northern Irish Operations
Lidl’s Northern Irish operations have partnered with local long-standing supplier McCulla Transport to launch a fully green transport fleet powered by waste-to-energy generation, the company said.
According to Lidl, the new fleet of eight bio-methane powered trucks marks the first significant business integration between the transport and the nationwide supermarket retail sector in the region and represents a major step forward in its move to slash carbon emissions.
This May, McCulla will start to create fully renewable bio-methane gas at its anaerobic digester (AD) plant in Lisburn, Co. Antrim, to power a sustainable, next generation transport operation which then delivers produce to Lidl stores in the region every day, it said.
J.P. Scally, chief executive officer of Lidl Ireland & Northern Ireland said he is "pleased to work with two long-standing local suppliers, Food Surplus Management and McCulla Transport, in developing this first-to-market approach, and to be the first large supermarket retailer to successfully integrate a waste-to-energy sustainable transport model."
"These fleets cover nearly 6,000 road kilometres per day across both regions, ensuring the safe and timely delivery of food to our stores in Northern Ireland and collection of waste from our store network across the Republic of Ireland," he added.
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