Aldi is doing away with plastic

Oh, just last year. How time flies. I wonder if it’s still going on.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/business/2019/jun/04/waitrose-launches-packaging-free-trial

I read about Waitrose trialling a “green” store in the UK years ago, where all the greengrocery was to be sold loose and things like washing powder, cleaning fluids etc supplied from kegs so you could fill your own containers. I think Morrisons tried something similar.

Our local Tesco has some loose fruit and veg. Or it did last time I was in, about nine months ago.

All the stores are at least trying. Let’s hope they’re learning from each other as well.

grandtanteJE65

Well, at least it is a start.

As yet Lidl and the Co-op are the only supermarkets that sell some vegetables and fruit in loose weight and baked items in paper bags.

I work on the checkouts in Waitrose and we sell a huge amount of fruit and veg loose and either by weight or per item, though far too much is also sold pre-packed. Goods from the in-store bakery are in paper bags.

Well done Aldi. Unfortunately their nearest shop to me is 57 miles away! Or I'd definitely be there, let's hope that the other big chains follow them! I absolutely deplore the unnecessary use & waste of plastic, so much of it totally ridiculous.

Nothing aeogirl, just like in a market or in the old days You buy the Cauliflower the Potatoes the apples free and open
Nothing is needed

So what are they using instead of plastic?

I have to have on line deliveries from Sainsburys. They recently announced that they would stop using plastic bags. But last week a head of broccoli was in a large orange plastic bag, a cucumber in another etc. In all there were five bags.
The meat and fish now come shrink wrapped in a plastic tray.
Takes me ages to get them out with scissors and knives.

Being housebound I have no alternative.

I certainly haven’t suggested using paper quizqueen as I m well onboard about the trees there are many alternatives, fruit and veg don’t need packaging they can go straight in your bag Other things that use paper or plastic bags, you bring your own reusable ‘Fine mesh’ type bag that you can buy from lots of places I ve got a pack of 6 not expensive and totally washable we must all get in the habit If doing this
The other places need to think more as well as supermarkets are factories that pack items like toys which often have layers of plastic inside the box
Nobody’s expecting you to get excited oopsminty It is only a start but surely worth some small recognition instead of a negative put down

It's not just the fact that fruit and veg are packed in plastic but when goods are packed in this way we cannot just buy the amount of produce that we actually require. It's not the first time that I have thrown away veg which was left languishing in the fridge too long.

I have been buying some reusable drawstring bags for fruit at Aldi recently they are good for storage at home they cost 25p I think .

It takes a lot of energy to make a paper bag. The paper industry is a huge energy consumer and polluter. Sainsbury's reusable veggie bags are made from recycled plastic bottles so that hasn't removed plastic from the equation. But, we have to start somewhere, as BlueBelle points out.

We used to buy our veg loose from the greengrocer and had to take our own bags to carry it home. I still do that, even in the supermarket, it it's offered loose, but the smaller, local stores don't have room for large displays of loose produce. Unfortunately, I rarely remember to remove packaging and leave it behind in the shop. You can do that, if you think on.

In Northumberland, the household recycling collection is restricted to plastic bottles, cans, paper and card. Plastic wrapping, plastic trays from meat and veg, yogurt pots and food waste etc. have to go in the general waste (unless you compost veg peelings, as I do). There are local hubs for glass bottles and textiles. Our village tetrapack container has recently been removed. Anything else must be taken (in my case) ten miles to the nearest recycling centre. My daughter and her husband are scandalised by Northumberland's poor performance compared with Bristol, where they accept almost everything for recycling.

What happens to it then, mind you, is another story, another scandal when you read about our waste being shipped across the world, where they dump it in landfill, in the sea, or pollute the air by burning it. However, sometimes they send it straight back because they find hazardous waste concealed in other, recyclable stuff. I've considered deleting this since it's quite depressing....?

....sorry..‘unwrap’

I worked at Tesco for twenty years and we had a customer who would in-wrap everything in boxes...plastic....any sort of pointless wrapping ( I.e. Wrapped bananas!!!!) .... he was annoying ,BUT RIGHT. Way too much packaging!!

I don’t see that we need either, quizqueen, for a lot of things. In our local fruit shop you can just load what you want into your wire basket and take it to the till, where they’ll weigh it and tip it into your own bag. It works for most fruit and veg (not berries obviously!).

They do display some fruit in plastic punnets, pre-weighed and priced, but always ask if they can tip it into your bag so they can re-use the punnet.

I don't know why everyone thinks replacing plastic bags with paper ones is a good idea. Trees are a finite resource and for every tree which is cut down, that's less oxygen produced for every creature on the planet to use!!! We'll reach the tipping point in the not so distant future so no need to worry about flu, we 'll all be gasping for air to breathe if the human race isn't curtailed soon.

I welcome any steps to reduce waste and pollution. One statement that stuck out to me, only because I've thought it myself, is how there wasn't so much plastic in use when I was young. Now I want my single croissant wrapped instead of lying there on the shelf open to everyone's fingers, cough and sneezes. I won't buy them now and miss my treat. Years ago we went into a shop and we were 'served', items were under covers and limited numbers of hands touch the goods which in theory should have cut down on the chances of germ transmissions.

This is brilliant news. I shop at Aldi and always have to have my kitchen bin open for the amount of plastic and wrapping I have to throw away. I did write to them about 2 years ago and said their goods were excellent for pricing and variety but dreadful for the packing.

BlueBelle

Oh come on Oopsminty splitting hairs here I m sure you read the next bit it was very brief and to the point

What do you think we as people can do if you are putting down all the small measures starting to be made You re not happy with my little bit of news noR the councils recycling Program so what’s your plans ?

I have no plans, BlueBelle There's no way to put this genie back in the bottle

But I am not going to get excited when massive supermarkets come out with claims that they're helping the environment when they're not. They just have their eye on good publicity/more money.

We are stuck with plastic. We apparently eat 50.000 plastic particles a year!

www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/05/people-eat-at-least-50000-plastic-particles-a-year-study-finds

It's not going away.

Milest0ne

Oopsminty. Why would they need to stop selling the things on your list.? Our council collects bottles ,tetra packs, cans aerosols, Plastic milk cartons. and supermarket trays. All in one recycling bag. We now have to separate out paper and cardboard into new blue bins

Because recycling in itself uses up resources. It’s a good thing, but it’s far better to avoid accumulating this stuff in the first place. Some packaging will always be necessary, but we can make choices in some areas that make a huge difference. Buying your fruit and veg loose from a local shop, using your own bags, going to refill shops if you have one nearby, getting your milk in reusable glass bottles, instead of in plastic. Some people will genuinely be unable to afford the higher cost of some of these things, but for most of us it’s a case of whether we care enough to pay the difference.

Oh come on Oopsminty splitting hairs here I m sure you read the next bit it was very brief and to the point

What do you think we as people can do if you are putting down all the small measures starting to be made You re not happy with my little bit of news noR the councils recycling Program so what’s your plans ?

It just takes 1 supermarket to be brave enough to do this. I hope all the others follow suit. As a child I was sent to the corner shop with a list and shopping bag and all fruit and vegetables went, unwrapped, in the bag. Amazingly, none of us died. Stop wrapping everything and ditch the carrier bags. Recyclable paper bags only. We must start doing instead of dithering.

Well, at least it is a start.

As yet Lidl and the Co-op are the only supermarkets that sell some vegetables and fruit in loose weight and baked items in paper bags.

BlueBelle

Oopsminty I didn’t say they were cutting out ALL plastic I said their fruit and veg which I think is a big improvement for a starter

The title of your thread said exactly that!

I'd be interested to know how much of the plastic is recycled for use by supermarkets. For instance, Sainsbury's is selling eggs in plastic boxes at the moment, instead of the mashed-up paper ones. I was surprised, because Sainsbury's tends to present itself as an eco-conscious organisation.
What also concerns me about supermarkets is the enormous amount of cheap plastic clothing they sell. Of course I'm glad that poor kids aren't dressed in rags but we must find a way to reduce the mountain of plastic textiles.

The mind indeed does boggle, nipsmum

A new entrance into the endless plastic swamping of our planet is disposable masks.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-54057799