Aldi charges 1 cent for fruit and vegetable bags

The discounters Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd are disposing of their plastic bags for fruit and vegetables. Instead, there will soon be knot bags made from renewable raw materials – at a price of 1 cent.

The last disposable plastic carrier bag went on sale at the Aldi branches at the end of 2018. Now the discounters Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd are taking a further step and, as industry pioneers, are also eliminating the conventional plastic bag, the so-called knot bag, for fruit and vegetables. From summer 2019, knot bags made from renewable raw materials will only be available for 1 cent in all branches of the two discounters. The company groups will also be offering reusable reusable nets from autumn 2019.

Together with other retailers, Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd decided about three years ago to offer disposable plastic bags for a fee. Since the voluntary commitment of the trade, the consumption of plastic carrier bags has fallen by two thirds. In 2018, Germans took home on average no more than 24 plastic bags per capita. „The figures confirm that the pricing of plastic bags has visibly prompted consumers to rethink. We follow a similar principle with the symbolic cent for our disposable fruit and vegetable bags,“ says Kristina Bell, Group Buying Director Quality Assurance & Corporate Responsibility. „We would be delighted if other retailers joined us. Because only with an industry-wide solution can we take a big step forward in reducing the number of plastic bags“.