Supermarket giants, Coles and Woolworths, respond to major plastic change in Aldi stores
- Replies 3
Supermarket giants, Coles and Woolworths, respond to major plastic change in Aldi stores
Supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths have responded to major changes in in-store plastic use, following the enforcement of the ban on plastic packaging in most European countries — their competitor, Aldi, has also imposed the ban in their in-store operations.
The response came after the environment ministry in France announced last October that starting January 2022, plastic packaging for nearly all fruits and vegetables will be banned.
The ban on plastic packaging in Europe has caused Australian supermarkets to embrace the policy. Credit: AAP/Getty Images.
The Coles spokesperson said: “Packaging, including plastic packaging, plays a key role in protecting products during transport, extending product life, keeping food safe and reducing food waste."
“We will continue to look for options for packaging that is fit for purpose, but also helps keep produce fresh for customers, protects it and keeps it safe,” the spokesperson added.
It can be noted that Coles has successfully implemented several waste-reducing initiatives for fresh produce in the past.
Coles has previously started working with suppliers on replacing plastic liners in some loose avocado cartons with paper liners — a move that is expected to remove almost four million non-recyclable plastic trays each year from Coles' supply chain.
The retailer is also notably working with suppliers of fresh produce — specifically with Fresh Select, one of Cole's pre-packaged lettuce suppliers — to reduce the weight of plastic wrap. This initiative has resulted in a reduction of approximately 16 tonnes of plastic each year.
Further, the supermarket giant is also replacing black trays with clear plastic trays for sweet pointed capsicums, baby corn and parsnips, while black plastic lids are replaced with white plastic lids on their garlic paste. The move allows more than 1.2 million pieces or 13 tonnes of plastic to be recycled in curbside collection annually.
The numerous environmental initiatives of Coles has resulted in the supermarket giant being voted the number one food retailer in Australia for sustainability by the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA).
Coles was voted as the number one food retailer in Australia for sustainability by the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) following its several environmental initiatives. Credit: Coles.
Woolworths is also working hard to keep their operations planet-friendly as mandated in their Sustainability Plan 2025, which aims to “create a better tomorrow” through their three pillars: people, planet and products.
A Woolworths spokesperson disclosed to Yahoo News Australia that despite the fact that the majority of their fresh products were sold loose, the retailer is keen on reducing the plastic packaging across their range.
The Woolworths spokesperson said: “Over the last four years, we’ve removed more than 800 tonnes of plastic packaging from our fruit and vegetables.”
“We’ve made improvements to a range of items, including swapping plastic trays for pulp and cardboard and using paper bags in place of plastic on vegetables,” the spokesperson added.
Since 2018, most fresh produce in Woolies stores are being sold without plastic packaging. This initiative has resulted in the removal of more than 9,000 tonnes of plastic from over 550 products — which includes fresh produce, milk bottles, meat trays, and bakery items — available in their stores.
However, some fresh produce is still packaged in plastic to extend their shelf life and reduce food waste.
The spokesperson concluded the supermarket giant's statement by saying: “We’ll continue to work with our suppliers to cut the amount of plastic used in packaging for a better tomorrow."
Woolworths is working on achieving their 2025 sustainability goal by setting smaller milestones — the retailer vows to completely eradicate the use of plastic packaging by replacing it with recyclable, reusable, or compostable packing in its Own Brand by 2023, while pledging that they will include the use of half the amount of new plastic packaging by 2024 and an average of 60 per cent recycled material in all packaging by 2025.
Woolworths’ 2025 Sustainability Plan is founded in three pillars: people, planet and products. Credit: Woolsworths.
Director of Corporate Responsibility for Aldi Australia, Daniel Baker, told Yahoo News Australia that the retailer has successfully removed almost 2,000 tonnes of plastic packaging — a 10 per cent reduction of plastics — across its fresh range in the past year.
Mr Baker said: “Removing plastics across our fresh produce range is a key priority and in 2020 we achieved a plastic reduction of 10 per cent in this area."
“This was achieved through a number of packaging changes including the removal of plastic trays from some packaged fresh fruit like apples, pears, nectarines and peaches along the eastern seaboard and in SA,” he said.
The director also said that Aldi Australia is currently trialling home compostable strawberry punnets and is searching for more alternative packaging options in hopes to roll them out across more of their product range.
Mr Baker said: “The next few years will see us continue to remove plastics from our range or replace it with sustainable alternatives and by 2025 all remaining packaging will be either recyclable, reusable or compostable.”
What do you think of the changes Coles, Woolies and Aldi are implementing? Are their goals good enough? Are they necessary?
.png){kind=icon}
