Aldi is to save 76 tonnes of plastic from ending up in the ocean every year by using the material for its fishcake and crispbake packaging.
The plastic, gathered by bottle collectors on the coast and repurposed by packaging supplier Sharpak, will recycle the equivalent of three million plastic bottles.
The discounter believes it will save a further 32 tonnes annually by making its fishcake packaging smaller.
READ MORE: Aldi throws ‘lifeline’ to fishing industry with new range
“These changes will see us use less packaging overall, and also repurpose plastic that could otherwise end up polluting our oceans,” Aldi plastics director Richard Gorman said.
“This is the latest in a series of initiatives we are rolling out to reduce our environmental impact and offer our customers even more environmentally-sustainable options.”
Last year, Aldi pledged to halve its volume of plastic packaging by 2025, meaning it needs to remove 74,000 tonnes from its shelves over the next four years.
The move coincides with Waitrose’s announcement it will save 100 tonnes of plastic from the sea by the end of 2021 by using the recycled packaging for 71 products.
Although it claimed to be the first supermarket to use “prevented ocean plastic”, it was beaten to the top spot by Sainsbury’s, which revealed it would use 297 tonnes of ocean-bound plastic early last month.
