ALDI Announces Commitments to Plastic Packaging Reduction

BATAVIA, Ill., April 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ALDI is pleased to announce a series of commitments it has made to help combat the global plastics crisis. By 2025, 100 percent of ALDI packaging, including plastic packaging, will be reusable, recyclable or compostable. ALDI will also reduce packaging material across its entire range by at least 15 percent.

ALDI has the ability to influence how its products are sourced, produced and brought to shelves because more than 90 percent of its range is ALDI-exclusive. The company is committed to working with its supplier community to achieve the following comprehensive goals:

• By 2025, 100 percent of ALDI packaging, including plastic packaging, will have reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging;
• By 2025, packaging material of all ALDI-exclusive products to be reduced by at least 15 percent;
• By 2020, 100 percent of ALDI-exclusive consumable packaging to include How2Recycle label;
• By 2020, implement an initiative to make private-label product packaging easier for customers to reuse;
• Guide continuous improvement of product packaging by internal expertise and external evaluations.

"ALDI has never offered single-use plastic shopping bags. And while we're pleased that we've helped keep billions of plastic grocery bags out of landfills and oceans, we want to continue to do more," said Jason Hart, CEO of ALDI U.S. "The commitments we're making to reduce plastic packaging waste are an investment in our collective future that we are proud to make."

These new goals are an extension of the company's existing sustainability initiatives. For more than four decades, ALDI U.S. has never offered single-use plastic grocery bags, and shoppers have brought their reusable bags. By company estimates, this progressive business decision has helped keep approximately 15 billion single-use plastic bags out of landfills and oceans. In 2018, ALDI recycled more than 250,000 tons of materials, including paper, cardboard, plastic and metal. Through this recycling effort, ALDI avoided the greenhouse gas equivalent of 8,094,533 gallons of gasoline. In July 2018, ALDI partnered with How2Recycle, a standardized labeling system, to empower its customers to recycle.

These packaging goals, along with other environmental initiatives, are part of the larger ALDI Corporate Responsibility program, which actively works to reduce food waste, support natural disaster relief efforts through employee volunteerism and donations, and build stronger communities through a long-standing partnership with Feeding America. For more information on corporate responsibility efforts at ALDI, visit https://corporate.aldi.us/en/corporate-responsibility/.

About ALDI U.S.

A leader in the grocery retailing industry since 1976, ALDI operates more than 1,800 U.S. stores in 35 states. More than 40 million customers each month benefit from the simple, streamlined approach ALDI brings to retailing. ALDI sells frequently purchased grocery and household items, primarily under its exclusive brands. These products meet or exceed national name brands on taste and quality, and 1 in 5 is award-winning*. For the eighth year in a row, ALDI was recognized as the value leader among U.S. grocery stores by a Market Force Information® survey of U.S. consumers. ALDI also backs up its products with a Twice as Nice Guarantee: replacing the product AND offering a full refund. For more information about ALDI, visit aldi.us.

*As of 11/01/2018, based on a survey of everyday, nationally distributed ALDI-exclusive branded products.

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SOURCE ALDI