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ALDI TO REMOVE 1.4 BILLION PIECES OF PLASTIC FROM OWN-BRAND TEA BAGS

Aldi has committed to remove single-use plastic from all its own-brand tea bags by the end of 2021.

The UK’s fifth-largest supermarket is to switch the oil-based plastic sealing of the tea bags to biodegradable materials, following a number of trials, meaning all tea bags will be 100% biodegradable.

In addition, Aldi is also removing the outer plastic packaging of its own-brand tea products.

Together, the two moves will remove approximately 1.4 billion pieces of single use plastic – preventing the equivalent of 80 tonnes of single-use plastic from going to landfill each year.

Richard Gorman, Plastics and Packaging Director at Aldi UK, said: “By the end of this year, all of our own-brand tea bags will be biodegradable and contain no plastic whatsoever.

“The changes we’ve made to our tea range will help us reduce our environmental impact and offer our customers even more environmentally-sustainable options when they shop at Aldi.”

Last year, Aldi pledged to halve the volume of plastic packaging it uses by 2025. This will see it remove 74,000 tonnes of plastic packaging from products over the next four years.

The supermarket, which has been carbon-neutral since January 2019, is also on track to have all own-label products recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2022, and branded products sold at Aldi by 2025.