Aldi UK and Ireland store

Source: Aldi

Aldi is removing plastic packaging from toilet roll in a move the supermarket claims could save more than 900 tonnes of plastic a year.

The discounter will sell four-packs of Luxury Toilet Tissue packaged in paper in a trial across 174 stores from next month.

The participating stores will be in the north east and Midlands, but the scheme will be rolled out across the country if deemed successful, Aldi said. The move would save a claimed 935 tonnes of plastic waste annually.

“Wherever we can find plastic packaging that can be removed or replaced with recyclable alternatives, we are determined to do just that,” said Fritz Walleczek, Aldi UK MD of corporate responsibility.

Read more: Aldi to roll out loose veg trial in England

“From taking shrink-wrap off vegetables to introducing paper and compostable bags, we are committed to ensuring that our packaging doesn’t end up as waste.”

The move could be extended to cover kitchen towels “in due course”, a spokesman added, taking Aldi towards its target of making all own-label packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2022.

The supermarket has also pledged to remove hard-to-recycle black plastic, PVC and expanded polystyrene from its food range by the end of 2020, and reduce all plastic packaging by 25% by the end of 2023.