Aldi has joined Ocado, Waitrose and Marks and Spencer as part of the UK’s Refill Coalition, which will see it combat single-use plastic with refill stations across its store portfolio.
The coalition was convened in 2020 by Unpackaged and aims to play a role in reducing the UK’s 56.5 billion units of plastic.
Aldi’s first refill store will open later this year with stations offering dried goods such as pasta, rice, cereals and grains. Customers will be able to bring their own reusable containers to buy loose products.
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“Aldi is dedicated to reducing single-use plastic, which is why we are pleased to become a member of the Refill Coalition. We look forward to working together with industry partners to offer consumers even more convenient and efficient ways to shop plastic free, and drive further uptake of unpackaged products,” said Aldi plastics and packaging director Luke Emery.
Unpackaged Director Catherine Conway said: “We are delighted that Aldi is joining the Coalition, strengthening the work we have already started with its unique position as the UK’s leading discounter.”
“We look forward to launching the solution later in the year so that refills can become more accessible to UK shoppers who still want to consume less single-use plastic packaging on the items they purchase.”
A survey by Greenpeace last year found that Britons dispose of nearly 100 billion pieces of plastic packaging a year.
