Inside Aldi’s war on plastic

German discount grocer Aldi is closing in on a year of cutting plastic bags from circulation at its more than 2,400 stores across the U.S., but preventing an estimated 9 million pounds of plastic from seeing the light of day is only part of the retailer’s war on plastic.

Aldi’s U.S. operation, headquartered in Batavia, Ill., released its annual sustainability report on Monday, laying out its efforts on everything from reducing refrigerant emissions to responsible sourcing of products.

But it’s the retailer’s effort to reduce its use of plastic that touches almost every part of its business, from the elimination of plastic bags at checkout to reducing the use of plastics in the products it sells. 

The grocer is in a good position to work with its suppliers to cut down on plastic packaging, since over 90% of the grocer’s products are from private-label producers. 

“Aldi stores are generally half the size of the average supermarket, which makes them inherently more efficient. And because they are stocked with 90% private-label products, we work closely with suppliers who share our mission to responsibly source, produce and package what’s on our shelves,” Aldi said in the 2023 sustainability report. 

The typical Aldi carries about 2,000 products, most of which involve packaging, which, according to the no-frills retailer, offers “a strong opportunity to reduce unnecessary waste and identify alternative materials that can advance our sustainability goals.”

Aldi said in the report that it has set the following goals on packaging:

Aldi reports that it has already made substantial progress in sustainable packaging, noting that 76% of Aldi-exclusive packaging is already reusable, recyclable, or compostable. 

Specifically, the grocer cut plastic packaging for grapes by roughly 19%; reduced the packaging for its Yogurt Bites by nearly 10%; removed the non-recyclable shrink sleeve from its Vista Bay Hard Seltzers, which cut out two tons of plastic; and added 25% post-consumer recycled content in two of its hummus containers to increase the use of recycled material to more than 80 tons a year. 

Aldi noted that it’s also working with waste-reduction leaders like the US Plastics Pact, the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, FMI – the Food Industry Association, and the Retail Industry Leaders Association, to reduce packaging waste. 

Plastic waste reduction doesn’t end in the store aisles, though; the grocer said it has also removed bottled water and disposable dishware at its corporate and divisional offices, and it has recycled or reused more than 382,000 tons of cardboard, wood pallets, and plastic film used in its operation.