Aldi has become the first UK supermarket to switch to 100% recycled PET for its own-brand soft drinks and bottled water range, excluding cap and label.
The move is expected to save around 10,000 tonnes of virgin plastic annually, and forms part of the supermarket’s target to include 50% recycled content into its plastic packaging across the business by 2025.
“We know our customers care about how their food and drink is packaged, as well as how it is disposed of and where it goes next,” said Luke Emery, Plastics and Packaging Director at Aldi UK. “This, coupled with the fact that the reuse of plastic packaging once it has been recycled is a critical industry-wide issue, means we’re doing all we can to reduce our impact.”
“Moving to recycled content on our soft drinks range forms part of our efforts to accelerate our progress on this journey,” Emery added. “We also hope the new labelling we are introducing will help to remind customers to recycle their packaging after use so we can all do our bit to increase recycling rates in the UK.”
The labels include a ‘Recycle me’ message in large font next to the brand’s name.
In 2022, Europe’s PET bottles recycled content rate hit 24%. The UK was slightly above average with around 25% recycled content. That means the continent is on track to meet EU targets for recycled content by 2025.
The UK is set to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in 2027, which is seen as one of the key solutions for improving quantity and quality of PET bottle collection. The scheme's start has been postponed three times already, most recently from 2025 to 2027.