The latest news, trends, analysis, interviews and podcasts from the global food and beverage industry

Aldi has announced plans to trial reusable bags for loose fruit and vegetables in its stores in Scotland, as part of its efforts to cut single-use plastics. From the end of November, all 250 Aldi stores in Scotland, the North of England and the Midlands will offer reusable bags as a sustainable alternative to single-use plastic. Made from recycled plastic bottles, the drawstring bags will be sold for 25p each.

The move to reusable bags is the supermarket’s latest efforts in working towards its sustainability commitment of reducing plastic packaging by 25% by the end of 2023. According to Aldi, if the reusable bags are introduced nationally, the initiative will remove the equivalent of 113 tonnes of single-use plastic from circulation each year. Fritz Walleczek, managing director of corporate responsibility of Aldi, said: “We are committed to cutting the amount of plastic that Aldi and our customers use, particularly excess or single-use plastic like produce bags. “We are hopeful that our customers in Scotland will embrace these new reusable produce bags whenever they’re buying loose fruit and veg and, together, we will be able to take more than 100 tonnes of plastic a year out of circulation.” The supermarket chain claims that it is on track to have all its own-label packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2022.