Initiative sees 64 tonnes of non-recyclable material removed from stores annually
Aldi Ireland has announced it has moved all its own-label Duneen Dairy yogurt range to recyclable pots, a switch which will see 64 tonnes of non-recyclable plastic removed from stores each year.
Aldi has been working with its Irish suppliers since May to roll out the new sustainable packaging across its Duneen Dairy yogurt range, including Greek style yogurts, fat free and low-fat yogurts, 0% fat fruit yogurts and others. In addition, a redesign of the yogurt pots now means four tonnes of plastic has been completely removed from stores each year. Customers can pick up the yogurt products, which are produced in Ireland, in their new packaging across all Aldi’s 144 Irish stores.
The initiative is part of Aldi’s long-term plastic reduction programme, which aims to have 100% of own-label packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2022.
Aldi also announced that it is trialling the removal of plastic lids from its own-label Irish produced natural yogurt 500g pots, becoming the first retailer in Ireland to do so. Aldi has been working closely with Irish Yogurts, based in Clonakilty, Co. Cork to implement the change across its Duneen Dairy Low Fat / Fat Free Natural Yogurt range.
Compostable Avocado and Kiwi packaging
Aldi will also shortly begin trialling fully home compostable packaging across its Organic Twin Pack Avocados and Organic Kiwi 4 Packs, Meade Potato Company has been working with Aldi on this new packaging. If successful, the initiative could help remove just over one tonne of non-recyclable plastic packaging from stores annually across Aldi’s organic avocado and kiwi ranges.
Customers will find the new 100% home compostable packaging around Aldi’s organic avocados and kiwis in stores from this Thursday, November 26th. This means customers will be able to place the packaging on their compost heap at home to be broken down and used again, or in the compost bin to be broken down at a composting facility.
Commenting, John Curtin, Aldi Group Buying Director, said: “Moving to recyclable pots across our own-label yogurt range is a significant step towards having fully recyclable packaging across all our own-label product ranges. We are also trialling the removal of plastic lids from one of our yogurt products as well as introducing compostable packaging across our organic avocados and organic kiwis, as we know customers are always looking for more ways to shop sustainably with us.”
Since introducing its plastic-reduction strategy in March 2018, Aldi has removed more than 616 tonnes of plastic from its 144 Irish stores, replaced over 870 tonnes of unrecyclable material with recyclable alternatives and removed 500 tonnes of packaging from its core ranges.
