According to the supermarket chain’s announcement, all items in ALDI grocery stores will soon come in 100% compostable, recyclable or reusable packaging.
This means that all plastic bags that now contain chips, snacks, cereal, frozen items, produce, and groceries, will be redesigned.
ALDI is a major grocery chain with 1,800 stores and over 40 million customers across 35 states. The chain reports that it has never offered single-use plastic shopping bags since it has kept billions of plastic bags out of landfills and oceans.
The chain also reported that they want to continue contributing to the cause, by reducing plastic packaging waste as an investment in our collective future. The press release also stated that in 2018, ALDI recycled more than 250,000 tons of materials, including paper, cardboard, plastic, and metal. Through this recycling effort, this supermarket chain avoided the greenhouse gas equivalent of 8,094,533 gallons of gasoline.
Yet, as 90% of the products in stores are made exclusively for it, the chain can dictate the way their items are packaged, shipped, and presented.
Yet, in order to continue selling their products in ALDI stores, from now on, the manufacturers of the other 10% of popular products will have to redesign their packaging as well.
The company reports that it will also include a How2Recycle labeling system, to encourage customers to recycle.
Sources:
returntonow.net
inhabitat.com
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