Aldi is set to replace the non-recyclable plastic inner bags in its UK own-brand cereal packs with a recyclable alternative before the end of this year.
The change will reportedly replace approximately 650 tonnes of non-recyclable plastic annually – the equivalent to the amount of packaging used by more than 10,000 UK households in a year.
This move comes as part of Aldi’s pledge to make all of its own-brand packaging recyclable, compostable, or reusable by the end of 2022, and for all the rest of the packaging it stocks to follow suit by 2025.
Chris McKenry, plastics and packaging director at Aldi, said: “Making such a popular product range fully recyclable will have a huge positive impact. Our focus is to offer quality at the lowest price on the market, and we believe that means more than simply offering great products - we have to provide customers with environmentally sustainable options they can afford too.
“We’ve set ambitious targets to reduce our environmental impact and will continue to step up our efforts to achieve them. This change to our cereal range is just one of a number of initiatives we have in the pipeline that will help us to reach our goal of all packaging, including branded products, being recyclable, compostable or reusable in the next five years.”
In February, Aldi’s CEO Giles Hurley wrote to suppliers offering to work with them to meet the supermarket’s 2022 packaging targets.
In July, Aldi committed to removing two billion single items of plastic from its operations by the end of 2025 and has recently introduced several initiatives that it hopes will save plastic, including the removal of single-use bags for loose fruit and vegetables across its UK stores by the end of the year, which will save more than 100 tonnes of plastic annually.
