Aldi is extending a trial to eliminate the use of plastic packaging for some fresh vegetables at its stores in England.
The supermarket started selling five loose fresh produce, including savoy cabbage, white and red cabbage, pointed cabbage and cauliflower, without plastic wrapping in Scotland earlier this year.
It says that has helped save more than three tonnes of plastic so far and estimates the move, if rolled out across all its 830 UK stores, would avoid the use of more than 100 tonnes of plastic a year.
Aldi is now planning to trial it across 230 stores in England from early next month and if successful, it will be rolled out across all stores before the end of the year.
The supermarket has also completed the removal of all non-recyclable black plastic from its core range of fresh fruits and vegetables and previously pledged to ensure all of its own label packaging will be recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2022.
Fritz Walleczek, Managing Director of Corporate Responsibility at Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “The trial of so-called ‘naked’ vegetables has had a very positive reception in Scotland and as a result, we’re now looking to extend this trial into two of our regions in England.
“Cutting waste is at the heart of what we do. Where we can, our aim is to remove unnecessary plastic entirely without leading to unnecessary food waste. Where we can’t do that, we are committed to ensuring that packaging doesn’t end up as waste by ensuring that all ours is recyclable, reusable or compostable.
“It is initiatives like this that will help us achieve this goal and is a measure of our determination to be as sustainable and environmentally responsible a business as possible.”
Source: Energy Live News
