In an effort to stamp on their carbon footprint, UK supermarket chain Lidl announced on the 15th of September that they are planning to replace all single-use fruit and vegetable bags with a compostable alternative. It is estimated this will replace 275 tonnes of single use plastic.
The new compostable bags will be phased into stores from January 2022, offering customers more sustainable solutions during their shopping trips. As well as being sustainable, the bags can also be used for domestic food waste collections and home composting, therefore increasing their longevity.
However this isn’t the only new sustainable solution that Lidl is offering. The company has it’s eyes set on launching a trail for a plastic bag and wrapping recycling scheme across 12 stores in the West Midlands and if successful, the expansion will be nationwide. The trial will enable customers to return ‘soft plastic’ packaging easily, which includes items such as carrier bags, biscuit wrappers, bread bags and crisp packets, to name a few. Drop off points will be easily accessible, being located at the front of the stores.
“By offering convenient solutions such as compostable bags and making it easier for customers to recycle more plastic through our in-store drop off points, we are hoping to give customers the opportunity to take small steps to reduce and recycle their plastic packaging.” - Christian Härtnagel, CEO at Lidl GB.
Already Lidl has met it’s target of ensuring 50% of packaging is made from recycled materials, four years ahead than planned. Other recent achievements include:
- Meeting targets for eliminating problematic plastic packaging from it’s own label food range, ensuring that it is all sustainable or made using recycled content.
- The removal of one billion pieces of plastic from stores across Great Britain, including plastic trays and punnets.
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