Victory for the Mail as Aldi banishes the black plastic that we can’t recycle
BLACK plastic trays – which cannot be easily recycled – are being phased out by budget supermarket chain Aldi.
The move comes after the Government announced plans for a crackdown through new levies and taxes on firms which sell products in single-use throwaway plastic.
Aldi’s action is the latest sign that supermarkets are dramatically changing their position on the use of packaging in the wake of the Daily Mail’s Turn the Tide on Plastic campaign.
The problem with the black trays, which are commonly used to package fresh produce, meat, fish and ready meals, is that they cannot be picked out by the laser sorting machines installed in rubbish collection and recycling centres.
As a result, the billions sold every year in the UK end up being burned for energy or dumped in landfill, where they will take many decades to break down. Aldi is phas ing out the black plastic trays for fresh fruit and vegetables and replacing them with clear alternatives that can be recycled into new products.
In theory this will save 265 tonnes of plastic a year from going to waste.
The clear trays will be used for three types of tomato, purple sprouting broccoli, fresh baby sweetcorn and asparagus. Green campaigners, shoppers, and even some supermarkets, question whether plastic trays are needed at all for fresh produce.
For example, Morrisons is now offering paper bags for customers to pick their own fresh produce from its shelves and Iceland has pledged to remove plastic from all its own-label products by 2023.
Morrisons has also decided to remove the plastic wrapping from its British cucumbers and Asda has taken the same step for its swedes.
Aldi is changing the packaging of its pasta salad pots to use 95 per cent recycled material, which will cut its plastic use by a further 139 tonnes a year.
Managing director for corporate responsi- bility at Aldi UK, Fritz Walleczek, said: ‘Cutting waste is part of our DNA and we have a longstanding commitment to minimise our impact on the environment.
‘That’s why we are doing all we can to cut the amount of unnecessary packaging and plastics we use and are working to ensure all our packaging can be either reused, recycled or composted by 2025.’
There has been a public backlash against the widespread use of throwaway plastic following the Mail’s campaign.
The BBC’s Blue Planet II series also highlighted the dangers of plastic pollution to the oceans and sea life.
Last week, it emerged that the Chancellor Philip Hammond’s November Budget will include measures designed to reduce the use of single-use plastic products.
This could include a ‘latte levy’ on coffee cups, which have a plastic coating, a deposit and return scheme for plastic bottles, and taxes around the production of black plastic trays.