Having scrapped standard plastic bags about a year ago (see Plasteurope.com of 18.10.2016), German discount supermarket chain Lidl (www.lidl.de) is now continuing its offensive against plastics. By 2025, the group is intending to reduce its overall plastics consumption in Germany by at least 20%. This is to be achieved through measures relating to product packaging and secondary packaging for its own brands – which account for some 70% of its range. Lidl has also announced that all the plastics packaging for its own brands will be 100% recyclable by 2025. In this way, the grocery chain will be supporting the European plastics strategy recently presented by the European Commission (see Plasteurope.com of 19.01.2018).

The company further reports that it has been aiming "for many years to successively avoid and reduce packaging material, while simultaneously improving the opportunities for recycling." Lidl is taking this approach one step further with the measures that have been announced. "For a long time now, we have been working closely with our suppliers to analyse in great detail those points at which we can completely do without plastic or where we can have recourse to alternative packaging," says Jan Bock, managing director for purchasing at Lidl Deutschland.