PACKAGING GERMANY
Schwarz group expands plastics strategy goals / Aldi plans to increasingly use recyclates to pack its own brands
German retail chains seem to be headed together in the direction of recycled materials, setting defined goals for 2025. Supposedly the largest retail group of Europe, Schwarz (Neckarsulm; www.lidl.com), recently announced that it plans to use at least 20% recycled materials in its own brands’ packaging at its retail chains, Lidl and Kaufland, thus expanding the goals of its own plastics strategy “REset Plastic”. In 2018, the group had announced that it would reduce plastics consumption by 20% by 2025 and make 100% of its own brands’ packaging recyclable as far as possible.
Aldi plans to use at least 30% recycled plastics in its packaging from 2025 (Photo: Aldi Süd) |
Discount retail chain Aldi Süd (Mülheim an der Ruhr; www.aldi-sued.de) is also advancing its “packaging mission”: by the end of 2025, all plastics packaging for its own brands is to consist of at least 30% recycled materials on average, Julia Adou, director, Corporate Responsibility, recently announced.
At Lidl and Kaufland, an average of 6% plastics recyclate has been used in the packaging of their own brands across all countries (as of 2019). A shorter-term goal for the Schwarz group is to stop using black plastics in its own products by the end of 2021 at the latest – black plastics make recycling more difficult, according to a statement from the group’s headquarters in Neckarsulm.
The 2019 achievement for Aldi was to be the first retail chain in Germany to do away with plastics wrap for cucumbers – with other supermarkets following suit. The short-term goal for the company now is for the twin Aldi companies, “Süd” and “Nord”, to make all private label packaging recyclable by the end of 2022. While the retailer also plans to reduce packaging weight by 30% by the end of 2025, it claims that additionally at least 40% of fruit and vegetable articles are going to be offered completely unpackaged.
In the recent past, the Schwarz group made headway with rPET bottles: since June 2021, all non-returnable PET bottles produced by Schwarz for Kaufland and Lidl brands in Germany have been made of 100% recycled PET, with the exception of the closures and labels. All of these new bottles are produced entirely from old bottles and are particularly resource-friendly due to their low weight, as the retail giant reports. Schwarz says this major step in the development of PET recycling was achieved by investing heavily in the reclaim process, in some cases with solutions developed in-house. With the increase to 100% rPET for non-returnable bottles, the Schwarz group is set to save a total of 48,000 t of virgin plastics in 2021 – compared to PET bottles without recyclate.
At Lidl and Kaufland, an average of 6% plastics recyclate has been used in the packaging of their own brands across all countries (as of 2019). A shorter-term goal for the Schwarz group is to stop using black plastics in its own products by the end of 2021 at the latest – black plastics make recycling more difficult, according to a statement from the group’s headquarters in Neckarsulm.
The 2019 achievement for Aldi was to be the first retail chain in Germany to do away with plastics wrap for cucumbers – with other supermarkets following suit. The short-term goal for the company now is for the twin Aldi companies, “Süd” and “Nord”, to make all private label packaging recyclable by the end of 2022. While the retailer also plans to reduce packaging weight by 30% by the end of 2025, it claims that additionally at least 40% of fruit and vegetable articles are going to be offered completely unpackaged.
In the recent past, the Schwarz group made headway with rPET bottles: since June 2021, all non-returnable PET bottles produced by Schwarz for Kaufland and Lidl brands in Germany have been made of 100% recycled PET, with the exception of the closures and labels. All of these new bottles are produced entirely from old bottles and are particularly resource-friendly due to their low weight, as the retail giant reports. Schwarz says this major step in the development of PET recycling was achieved by investing heavily in the reclaim process, in some cases with solutions developed in-house. With the increase to 100% rPET for non-returnable bottles, the Schwarz group is set to save a total of 48,000 t of virgin plastics in 2021 – compared to PET bottles without recyclate.
29.07.2021 Plasteurope.com [248075-0]
Published on 29.07.2021