Aldi is struggling to deliver on its sustainability commitment of making all own-label packaging recyclable by the end of 2022.

The German discounter first made the commitment in March 2018, saying it would “ensure that all packaging on own-label products will be recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2022.”

However, the transition is taking longer than expected for the final 1% of own-label packaging, as the supermarket reports there is a lack of resources or viable alternatives.

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In June 2021, the discount supermarket was saying it was on track to hit the target, but by March this year the message had changed from “by 2022” to “by the end of 2022”.

With the end of 2022 approaching, Aldi is still struggling to find viable solutions for problematic elements of packaging such as soak pads for fresh meat and laminated paper for block cheese and butter.

“We have made significant progress since setting this target and we are pleased the packaging on 99% of our own-label products is now recyclable, reusable or compostable,” an Aldi spokesman told The Grocer.

“We are committed to reducing our environmental impact in any way we can and are continuing to explore more sustainable packaging alternatives for the very small number of remaining products.”

The supermarket is also working towards a separate target of all branded packaging being recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025.

The news comes as Aldi has been named the UK’s cheapest supermarket for a basket of groceries for the fifth month running.