Aldi supermarket announces plans to tackle plastic waste – Greenpeace reaction

Publication date: 8th March 2018

Responding to the announcement from Aldi that it will “ensure that all packaging on its own-label products will be recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2022” and that it “has also pledged its support in principle for a national deposit return scheme (DRS) for plastic bottles” Louise Edge, senior oceans campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said:

“Aldi now stands alongside Iceland, Tesco and Co-op as a fourth major British retailer to give its backing to a deposit return scheme for plastic drinks bottles. Gove should note Aldi’s change of heart, and the overwhelming public support for this solution, and introduce a deposit return scheme for all plastic bottles, glass bottles and drinks cans without further delay.

“Aldi’s announcement fails to meet the bar set by Iceland – who are simply eliminating polluting plastics from their own brand products within 5 years. We look forward to hearing the detail behind the headline, and how much Aldi will be focusing on the reduction and reuse of packaging, as it is increasingly clear that plastics recycling alone won’t clean up our oceans. We need a dramatic reduction in throwaway plastic packaging and we need it to start now. That’s why we’re calling on retailers to eliminate polluting plastic packaging completely from their own brand products.”

ENDS

Notes for editors:

The Aldi press release is online here: https://www.aldipresscentre.co.uk/press-releases/view/482

Media contact: Alexandra Sedgwick, Press Officer, Greenpeace UK, alexandra.sedgwick@greenpeace.org, 07773 043 386