Aldi to trial loose pasta and rice to reduce plastic waste in UK

As per the announcement, Plastics and Packaging Director of Aldi UK, Richard Gorman, said: "Customers at our Ulverston store can now buy the same high-quality items they know and love, while also cutting down on plastic packaging.

He went on to say that: "We're always looking for new ways to reduce waste plastic and limit packaging, as many of our shoppers are increasingly conscious of the environment and their impact on it [... We hope local customers embrace the trial and we will use their feedback to inform any future plans around refillable products." Aldi announced these climate-conscious plans last year, aiming to remove approximately 74,000 tonnes of plastic packaging from their shops, and they are currently on course to ensure all Aldi own-brand products are recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2022. This particular action is estimated to eliminate 130 tonnes of plastic waste alone. They aim to do the same with all branded items it sells by 2025, but this is already a huge step forward given that Aldi stores are predominantly stocked with their own products. Hopefully, the trial is a success and we can see it not only pop in more locations, but see similar initiatives carried out by other supermarkets.

Commenting, an Aldi Ireland spokesperson said:

“We are constantly looking for new ways to reduce the amount of packaging waste across all our 145 Irish stores. We work closely with our colleagues in the UK and we keep developments under review on an ongoing basis.

“Since introducing our plastic-reduction strategy, we have removed more than 2,050 tonnes of virgin plastic from our 145 Irish stores in addition to replacing almost 930 tonnes of non-recyclable material with recyclable alternatives.”