GROCERY RETAIL
INSIDE ALDI’S WAR ON PLASTIC
The discount grocer continues to be an industry leader on sustainability.
TIMOTHY INKELBARGER, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, SUPERMARKET NEWS
G erman discount grocer Aldi is closing in on a year of cutting plastic bags from circulation at its more than 2,400 stores across the U.S., but preventing an estimated 9 million pounds of plastic from seeing the light of day is only part of the re- tailer’s war on plastic. Aldi’s U.S. operation, headquar - tered in Batavia, Ill., released its an - nual sustainability report on Monday, laying out its efforts on everything from reducing refrigerant emissions to responsible sourcing of products. But it’s the retailer’s effort to reduce its use of plastic that touches almost every part of its business, from the elimination of plastic bags at check- out to reducing the use of plastics in the products it sells. The grocer is in a good position to work with its suppliers to cut down on plastic packaging, since over 90% of the grocer’s products are from pri - vate-label producers. “Aldi stores are generally half the size of the average supermarket, which makes them inherently more ef-
ficient. And because they are stocked with 90% private-label products, we work closely with suppliers who share our mission to responsibly source, produce and package what’s on our shelves,” Aldi said in the 2023 sustain - ability report. The typical Aldi carries about 2,000 products, most of which involve pack- aging, which, according to the no-frills retailer, offers “a strong opportunity to reduce unnecessary waste and iden- tify alternative materials that can ad- vance our sustainability goals.” Aldi said in the report that it has set the following goals on packaging: • Make 100% of Aldi-exclusive primary packaging reusable, recy- clable, or compostable by the end of 2025. • Use 20% post-consumer recycled content in Aldi-exclusive plastic pri- mary packaging by the end of 2025. • Reduce Aldi-exclusive primary packaging materials by 15% by the end of 2025. Aldi reports that it has already made substantial progress in sus- tainable packaging, noting that 76%
of Aldi-exclusive packaging is already reusable, recyclable, or compostable. Specifically, the grocer cut plas - tic packaging for grapes by roughly 19%; reduced the packaging for its Yogurt Bites by nearly 10%; removed the non-recyclable shrink sleeve from its Vista Bay Hard Seltzers, which cut out two tons of plastic; and added 25% post-consumer recycled content in two of its hummus containers to in- crease the use of recycled material to more than 80 tons a year. Aldi noted that it’s also working with waste-reduction leaders like the US Plastics Pact, the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, FMI – the Food Industry Association, and the Retail In- dustry Leaders Association, to reduce packaging waste. Plastic waste reduction doesn’t end in the store aisles, though; the grocer said it has also removed bottled water and disposable dishware at its corpo- rate and divisional offices, and it has recycled or reused more than 382,000 tons of cardboard, wood pallets, and plastic film used in its operation.
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PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
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