ALDI is going to start charging for reusable fruit and veg bags and increase the cost of its bags for life as it aims to encourage recycling.

Beginning with a trial in 100 stores across the Midlands, the supermarket will get rid of its free single-use plastic produce bags altogether.

Instead, shoppers will be able to buy reusable drawstring produce bags, made from recycled bottles, which will cost 25p.

Its regular compostable bags are still going to be available in store for 6p when the change comes into effect on 24th February.
Aldi says if the scheme is rolled out nationwide it will remove the equivalent of approximately 109 tonnes of plastic from circulation every year.

Meanwhile, the cost of its flexi-loop bags for life will increase from 9p to 15p.

This means the German discount retailer’s bags for life are now more expensive than several of their competitors such as Tesco and the Coop.

But they are still cheaper than Sainsburys which put its bags up to 20p in November and Morrisons which put its bags up to 30p in August

Aldi says all profits from the increase in price will go into making its packaging more eco-friendly in the future.

Fritz Walleczek, managing director of corporate responsibility at Aldi, said: “We are determined to drastically cut single-use plastic, and evolving our approach to the sale and distribution of bags is an important step forward.”

The UK government forced larger retailers to begin charging a minimum of 5p for single-use carrier bags in October 2015 to cut waste.

According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the use of plastic bags at the major supermarkets in England has fallen by 90 per cent since 2015.