Ethan Clarke
In a bid to reduce plastic waste, Aldi has started offering a soft plastics recycling facility in its stores. The supermarket chain has rolled out recycling bins for soft plastics at more than 800 of its stores across the UK. This move is expected to help collect up to 1,000 tonnes of plastic a year. Customers can now recycle clean soft plastic packaging, including bread bags, carrier bags, and crisp packets, regardless of where the items were purchased. Aldi is working towards making 100% of its own-label packaging reusable, recyclable, or compostable. The company is also the first UK supermarket to join the Podback Coffee Pod Recycling Scheme, allowing customers to recycle plastic and aluminium coffee pods for free.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of stores with soft plastic recycling bins | Over 800 |
| Types of soft plastics accepted | Bread bags, carrier bags, crisp packets, salad bags, cosmetics packaging |
| Collection points | Mold, Buckley, Broughton, Wrexham, Llay, Denbigh |
| Plastic recycling business partner | Jayplas |
| Plastic tracking system partner | Flexible Plastics Fund |
| Plastic tracking system name | eco2Veritas |
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What You'll Learn
Aldi's soft plastic recycling bins
Aldi has been working hard to make recycling easier for its customers. As part of this initiative, Aldi has installed recycling bins for soft plastics at the front of its stores. The supermarket chain is rolling out these bins to over 800 of its shops across the UK, with a view to helping customers recycle tonnes of problematic soft plastic packaging each year.
The bins will collect clean, soft plastic packaging, including crisp packets, salad bags, bread bags, and carrier bags, regardless of where the items were purchased. The roll-out follows the success of a 16-week trial carried out at 20 stores across Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Greater Manchester.
The introduction of these recycling bins is a significant step forward, providing Aldi customers with a convenient option to recycle their soft plastic waste. Previously, most local authorities did not collect soft plastics, so these collection points address a critical gap in recycling infrastructure.
Aldi is committed to tackling plastic waste and has partnered with the Flexible Plastics Fund to improve the recycling of flexible plastics collected in its stores. The fund, established by major companies like Mars, Mondelēz International, Nestlé, PepsiCo, and Unilever, has developed an AI-powered tracking system that provides full transparency into the recycling process. This system tracks the amount of flexible plastic collected, its sorting and reprocessing, and the final recycled products. Aldi's efforts align with the UK Plastics Pact's goal for all plastic packaging to be recyclable by 2025.
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Accepted soft plastics
Aldi has been rolling out recycling bins for soft plastics at the front of its stores, with a view to helping customers recycle tonnes of problem materials annually. The supermarket expects to collect up to 1,000 tonnes of plastic a year once the bins are fully installed in over 800 stores nationwide.
The following are examples of accepted soft plastics:
- Bread bags
- Salad bags
- Crisp packets
- Carrier bags
- Plastic wrapping
- Cosmetic packaging
- Coffee pods (plastic and aluminium)
- Plastic film
It is important to ensure that all soft plastics are clean before placing them in the recycling bins.
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Locations
Aldi has been rolling out soft plastic recycling bins at the front of its stores across the UK. The supermarket chain is working with plastics recycling business Jayplas to recycle the materials collected. While not all Aldi stores in the UK will be providing this service, customers can find collection points at Mold, Buckley, Broughton, Wrexham, Llay, and Denbigh.
In 2022, Aldi opened a new eco-concept store in Royal Leamington Spa. The supermarket chain also carried out a 16-week trial at 20 of its stores across Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Greater Manchester. Following the success of this trial, Aldi announced in September 2022 that it would be rolling out recycling bins for soft plastics at more than 800 of its shops across the UK.
The rollout is a step towards achieving the The UK Plastics Pact goal for all plastic packaging to be recyclable by 2025. Aldi is also working towards making 100% of its own-label packaging reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2022. The supermarket is committed to tackling plastic waste and providing transparency in its recycling initiatives.
Aldi has partnered with the Flexible Plastics Fund to develop a tracking system for soft plastic collected at the front of stores. This system, called eco2Veritas, tracks and certifies the amount of flexible plastic collected and recycled. The funding received from the Flexible Plastics Fund supports the recycling of challenging materials.
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Other supermarkets' soft plastic recycling
Soft plastic take-back schemes are becoming increasingly common in UK supermarkets. Tesco, Sainsbury's, the Co-op, and Aldi are among the supermarkets that have implemented such schemes. However, there are concerns about the effectiveness of these initiatives. An investigation by non-profit Everyday Plastic and the Environmental Investigation Agency UK (EIA) found that 70% of the soft plastic waste collected by Tesco and Sainsbury's that reached a known destination was burned, not recycled. This is due to the challenges of recycling soft plastics, which are more technically challenging than recycling harder plastics.
Tesco is the only supermarket to have produced new plastic packaging from old wrappers, with a 2020 trial using recycled soft plastics in cheese packaging. They have also worked with Heinz and recycling companies to produce snap pots for beans made from recycled soft plastics. However, Tesco has not disclosed how much of the collected plastic is used for these products. The Co-op has provided similar collection services for some time and collects around 300 tonnes of soft plastics annually. Sainsbury's customers bring in around 18 tonnes of soft plastics per month, or 216 tonnes per year.
Despite these initiatives, there is a lack of transparency regarding the fate of most soft plastics collected by supermarkets. This has led to accusations of greenwashing, as supermarkets are investing in the wrong model and not focusing on reducing their plastic footprint. Additionally, there is a lack of infrastructure in the UK to recycle soft plastics effectively, with only a few specialist facilities equipped to handle this material. As a result, there is no market for soft plastic recycled materials, and they are often downcycled into products of lower value, such as drainpipes or shelving.
While these take-back schemes may divert plastic from landfills or incinerators, they do not address the root cause of the problem, which is the overproduction of unnecessary plastic packaging. Campaigners are calling for supermarkets and the government to support a significant reduction in global plastic production.
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Aldi's recycling partnerships
Aldi has partnered with several organisations to improve its recycling systems and reduce plastic waste.
In 2022, Aldi opened a new eco-concept store in Royal Leamington Spa, and the company has since been rolling out recycling bins for soft plastics in front of stores across the UK. By the end of 2023, Aldi expects to have installed these bins in over 800 stores, allowing customers to recycle clean soft plastic packaging, such as crisp packets, salad bags, bread bags, and carrier bags.
Aldi is working with plastics recycling business Jayplas to recycle the materials collected. Jayplas is building a washing and pelletising plant for used film in Loughborough and has plans for a similar plant near Cardiff. Aldi has also partnered with the Flexible Plastics Fund to develop a tracking system for the soft plastics collected in-store, enabling the company to provide "full transparency" and ensure that all materials are recycled "wherever possible." The Flexible Plastics Fund was established in May 2021 by Mars, Mondelēz International, Nestlé, PepsiCo, and Unilever, and is led by Ecosurety.
Aldi is also the first UK supermarket to join the Podback Coffee Pod Recycling Scheme, allowing customers to recycle their plastic and aluminium coffee pods for free.
These initiatives are part of Aldi's commitment to reducing plastic waste and providing easy options for customers to recycle their problematic soft plastic packaging.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Aldi has installed recycling bins for soft plastics at the front of its stores across the UK.
You can recycle clean soft plastic packaging, including crisp packets, salad bags, bread bags, and carrier bags.
Aldi works with plastics recycling business Jayplas to recycle the material it collects. All the materials are recycled in the UK.
Aldi expects to collect up to 1,000 tonnes of plastic a year once the bins are fully installed in over 800 stores nationwide. Aldi is also working towards making 100% of its own-label packaging reusable, recyclable, or compostable.
Yes, Tesco and Co-op have been providing soft plastics recycling services at their stores.
