ALDI Commits to Removing Plastic Bags from Stores by 2023

Discount and private label retailer ALDI has announced its latest sustainability initiative. 

First covered by Store Brands’ sister publication Progressive Grocer, ALDI has committed to remove all plastic shopping bags from stores by the end of 2023, which, according to the company, equates to the elimination of 4,400 tons of plastic from the environment every year.

Announced in a letter to customers by ALDI CEO Jason Hart, the grocer says it has already removed plastic shopping bags from almost 500 stores and is on track to phasing them out of all 2,200 U.S. locations by the close of next year. ALDI’s sustainability initiatives on food waste were featured in the March/April issue of Store Brands Magazine.

The customer letter also included the company’s inaugural Corporate Responsibility Progress Report, which came out just one year after Aldi unveiled updated sustainability goals.

Among the report’s highlights:  

• Aldi has considerably reduced its use of plastic and boosted the recyclability of its packaging so that more than 62% of Aldi-exclusive packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable.  
• The company earned more EPA GreenChill store certifications than all grocery retailers in the nation combined for the second consecutive year, and continued to purchase green electricity to cover 100% of its energy consumption. 
• The grocer donated more than 33 million pounds of food through its partnership with Feeding America, and 72,000 pounds of household products through its partnership with Good360. Aldi also diverted 74% of operational waste company-wide that would otherwise go to landfills, through increased donations, recycling programs and composting pilots.