Aldi has launched a scheme to try to reduce plastic waste by selling rice and pasta loose. Customers would instead use refillable containers to transport their goods with the products being sold by weight.
The bargain supermarket has started selling basmati rice, brown rice penne pasta and wholewheat fusilli in certain stores with an aim of increasing the initiative to other stores in the future.
Aldi would cut down on around 130 tonnes of plastic use each year if the initiative is successful. As well as customers bringing their own containers, Aldi is providing fully recyclable and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified brown paper bags in a bid to become more sustainable.
Speaking about the new initiative Richard Gorman, the Plastics and Packaging Director of Aldi UK, 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.
“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.”
The trial is currently only in one store in Cumbria, but it will hopefully be being rolled out to other stores.
Aldi became carbon neutral in January 2019 and is aiming to have all their own-label products recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2022, and all products sold there by 2025.
Asda did something similar in Leeds back in 2020. The city is in the works to become a greener place and Asda chose one of the Leeds stores to become its first “sustainability” store.
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