A BETTER DEAL FOR ALL OF US
Lidl is doing its bit to reduce plastic pollution in the sea – while still helping you save on your weekly shop
Plastic. It’s hard to imagine how we’d live without it. Take your average supermarket shop: much of the produce we buy – especially fish and meat – relies on plastic packaging for protection and to help keep it fresh.
But we all know there’s a downside. Plastic pollution, especially in our oceans, is a global problem, with vast floating “islands” of discarded plastic, as well as contamination from microplastics, severely threatening marine life.
When you shop at Lidl, though, the good news is that the supermarket chain is working hard to address this serious by eliminating or reducing the plastic content used in its packaging.
And there’s more good news, given the cost of living crisis: Lidl’s ongoing efforts towards sustainability haven’t come at the cost of its affordable prices.
One of the ways the company is tackling the plastic issue is by signing up to the Prevented Ocean Plastic initiative. This involves collecting and recycling plastic from the beaches and coastline around South East Asia that would otherwise end up polluting the world’s oceans. The scheme has already prevented the equivalent of 10 million plastic bottles from entering the ocean.
In 2020 Lidl became the first UK supermarket to include Prevented Ocean Plastic as part of its packaging. And it now makes up at least 30 per cent of the plastic trays* across fresh fruit, breaded poultry and prepared fruit.
Lidl is reducing and reusing plastic in other areas too. For example, it has been working with its suppliers to minimise packaging, reducing total tray weight across poultry by a third compared to last year. And reducing block cheese packaging by up to 48 per cent has saved a further 35 tonnes of plastic between 2021 and 2022.
So by doing your weekly shop at Lidl you’ve been using a supermarket that cares about its impact on the planet.