Aldi is set to save approximately 265 tonnes of plastic a year as it phases out the use of black plastic food trays and begins to use recyclable clear trays on its fresh fruit and vegetables.
The supermarket is phasing out the hard-to-recycle black plastic trays on a range of fresh produce and replacing them with clear, recyclable alternatives as part of its commitment to ensure all its packaging is recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025.
Introducing the new trays on six ranges of fresh produce this month will itself save an estimated 265 tonnes of plastic a year.
Black plastic is difficult to identify by the machinery used in materials facilities. As a result, it’s often diverted to landfill or burned for energy instead of being recycled.
“One part of that is to prevent plastic going to landfill by using materials that are easier to recycle – like these clear trays – but also to ensure that there is a demand for recycled plastic by using it in products like our pasta pots.”
At the same time, Aldi is also changing the packaging of its pasta pots to use 95% recycled material, cutting a further 139 tonnes of plastic a year.
Fritz Walleczek, Managing Director of Corporate Responsibility at Aldi UK, said: “Cutting waste is part of Aldi’s DNA and we have a longstanding commitment to minimise our impact on the environment.
“That’s why we are doing all we can to cut the amount of unnecessary packaging and plastics we use and are working to ensure all our packaging can be either reused, recycled or composted by 2025.
“One part of that is to prevent plastic going to landfill by using materials that are easier to recycle – like these clear trays – but also to ensure that there is a demand for recycled plastic by using it in products like our pasta pots.”
The new clear trays were introduced for Aldi’s Piccolo Tomatoes, Specially Selected Sunstream Tomatoes, Specially Selected Mixed Baby Plum Tomatoes and Specially Selected Purple Sprouting Broccoli in July and are being introduced on its fresh Babycorn and Asparagus during August.
