Aldi is rolling out recycling bins for soft plastics across nearly all of its UK stores, with a goal of reducing plastic pollution and helping customers to recycle more waste per year.
Following the success of the trial last year, the move means customers can return soft plastic packaging such as crisp packets, bread bags and carrier bags – regardless of where the items were bought.
The discount supermarket says it expects to collect up to 1,000 tonnes of plastic a year once the bins are fully installed in over 800 stores nationwide, which will be complete by the end of this year.
“We are always striving to reduce plastic waste wherever possible, and we know how important this is to our customers,” said plastics and packaging director at Aldi UK, Richard Gorman.
“This rollout is a step in the right direction and provides our shoppers with an easy option to recycle their problematic soft plastic packaging in the UK.”
Gorman goes on to say that Aldi hopes customers utilise their new bin collection to help make positive change by recycling more waste.
According to WRAP’s head of business collaboration, Helen Bird, a fifth of the plastic packaging that consumers are left with at home is plastic bags and wrapping – which can be recycled.
“There are opportunities to reduce this, but where plastic is used, packaging design needs to be simplified and recycling systems are needed,” she said.
In future years, Helen expects this packaging to be collected directly from people’s homes and places of work, but she believes that “solutions are urgently needed today to tackle the growing mountain of waste”.
“We have seen trials and regional roll outs of similar schemes by other supermarkets working towards The UK Plastics Pact goal for all plastic packaging to be recyclable by 2025, this move by Aldi is a great achievement and one we fully support.”
