Aldi has pledged to reduce the volume of plastic packaging it uses by 50 per cent by 2025.

The new commitment will see the supermarket remove 74,000 tonnes of plastic packaging during the next five years, the equivalent to 2.2 billion single items of plastic. 

To achieve the goal, Aldi said it will work to remove and reduce unnecessary packaging and switch to alternative materials. Where plastic is required, it will be recyclable and made of recycled material wherever possible.

The new target is part of Aldi’s overall strategy to ensure that all own-label products are recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2022 and branded products sold at Aldi by 2025.  

Since March 2018 Aldi said it has removed more than 6,000 tonnes of plastic and replaced over 3,200 tonnes of unrecyclable material with recyclable alternatives.

Chief executive Giles Hurley said: “We are stepping up our efforts to reduce the amount of plastic packaging used across our business because it is the right thing to do for a sustainable future. We know this issue matters to our customers too and are confident they will support our initiatives to reduce plastic in the coming years.    

“We can only achieve our long-term plastic reduction targets with support from suppliers. The response we have received so far has been extremely positive and we look forward to working with them to develop further innovative packaging solutions.”    

Hurley added that Aldi will report annual progress against its plastics and packaging targets via its website.