Aldi announces major change to plastic packaging including mince

Aldi customers will notice changes to some of their staple products, as the supermarket is aiming to reduce its plastic packaging.

Aldi’s Making Sustainability Affordable report states that the company has set a goal to reduce plastic packaging by 25% by 2025. It is already halfway to this goal and will continue to do so before completing its packaging overhaul.

The report states: “Through the work we do with our suppliers, we are redesigning our packaging so that it is 100 percent recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025.”

Aldi is on course to reach this goal. 83,3 percent of the packaging for its brands falls into that category.

Customers will most likely notice changes in the following areas: batteries, noodles, cups, and minced meat.

By switching from tray packaging to a soft “flow-wrap” casing, the amount of plastic used in the product will be reduced by 70%.

Paper-based cups for instant noodles are already being produced to replace the Styrofoam cup packaging.

Paper is now being used in place of plastic for the packaging of batteries, reducing plastic waste by 17 tonnes per year.

Daniel Baker, Aldi’s director of sustainability, assured customers that the changes will not increase prices.

He said, “As an organization, we are focused on delivering to our customers and are acutely aware that many are feeling the pinch at this time.”

“We won’t lose out on cost, but we will not compromise our ambitious sustainability goals.”

Currently, 82 percent of the waste is diverted away from landfills.

The “food rescue” program, which links supermarkets to organizations like Foodbank and OzHarvest, is a major part of this.

Aldi has said that it will contribute the equivalent of 8,75 million meals through this program in 2022.