Aldi To Replace Plastic Shopping Bags With American Style Paper Ones

Aldi has announced plans to get rid of plastic bags and replace them with paper and biodegradable bags in all of its stores.

In an announcement made on Monday, the German supermarket announced plans to trial paper bags in half of its stores across the UK, and compostable carrier bags in the other, from July.

Customers will be surveyed and at the end of the trial the most popular option will be wheeled out nationwide as a permanent fixture. These will sit alongside Aldi's current offering of reusable bags.

The move is a massive push to tackle single-use plastics and the damage they are having on the environment.

Fritz Walleczek, managing director of corporate responsibly at Aldi, said: "Reducing the amount of plastic we produce is fundamental to our commitment to being a sustainable and environmentally responsible business. This trial will identify the option which best suits our shoppers.

"Cutting waste is part of Aldi's DNA and we are constantly looking for new ways to reduce our environmental impact. This new trial is one of the biggest we have ever launched because we want our customers to be involved and help us make the right decision for them and the environment."

It's thought the chosen bag could help save 33.3 million plastic bags being used per year, the equivalent to 1,200 tonnes.

As is with the supermarket's current plastic bags, the environmentally-friendly options will cost shoppers. The new bio-degradable bags, which are made of Bioplast and are designed to be compostable within 12 months, will cost 6p, while the paper bags will cost 19p.

Aldi has also said it is committed to reducing plastic packaging by 25% by the end of 2023.

Last week, Sainsbury's announced it would be the first UK supermarket to scrap plastic bags for loose items such as fruit veg and baked goods.

Sainsbury's CEO, Mike Coupe, said: "We are absolutely committed to reducing unnecessary plastic packaging in Sainsbury's stores.

"Our customers expect us to be leading the way on major issues like this, so I am determined to remove and replace plastic packaging where we can and offer alternatives to plastic where packaging is still required to protect a product."

Let's hope this is the first of many supermarkets following suit.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Environment, Aldi, Life News, Life

Ciara Sheppard

Ciara is a freelance journalist working for Tyla. After graduating from the University of Sussex, Ciara worked as a writer at GLAMOUR Magazine and later as the Assistant Editor of Yahoo Style UK.

@ciarasheppard