Aldi Nord and Süd have agreed on a strategic partnership with Cologne-based recycling solutions provider Interseroh + GmbH, effective January 2022.
Interseroh + will offer the two groups the ideal basis for closing raw material cycles in the area of packaging with a focus on post-consumer material, increasing the retailers' involvement in the circular economy.
Strategic Partnership
From January 2022, the packaging of own-brand products of Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd will be incorporated into the Interseroh + dual system.
Alexander Markov, managing director, logistics and services at Aldi Süd, said, "With this strategic partnership, we want to meet our product responsibility and ensure a real circular economy in the future. Interseroh + can fall back on a lot of experience in the licensing business and offers a new concept for securing secondary raw material requirements and for closing cycles. This combination of experience and innovation convinced us."
For the retailer, this is the first step in the partnership and will be followed by more areas such as packaging design and packaging innovations together with Interseroh +.
Aldi is also open to further cooperation in this area, especially since this is an important part of its sustainability strategy and packaging mission.
Interseroh +
In the spring of this year, Interseroh + presented its sustainable approach to the market.
The group aims to comprehensively support partner companies in achieving a sustainable packaging strategy.
The aim is to strategically promote sustainable innovations in the market in a large alliance with interested companies on the part of producers and the recycling industry and thus achieve the actual goal of the Packaging Act.
Markus Müller-Drexel, CEO of Interseroh +, said, "It makes us very proud that Aldi, as one of the leading retail companies, has decided in favour of the model of our recycling alliance after intensive examination.
"Both corporate groups have taken on a really sustainable and ambitious packaging strategy, which we will work on together with Aldi. The entire service portfolio of Interseroh + is part of this strategic partnership. Interseroh + not only ensures that the legal requirements are met in all areas, but also that the collected packaging becomes new packaging and products wherever possible."
Aldi Packaging Strategy
In the summer of 2018, Aldi North and Aldi Süd started their joint packaging mission which outlined that all private-label packaging should be recyclable by the end of 2022.
In addition, the two companies want to reduce the packaging weight of their own brands by 30% by the end of 2025.
Where the discounters cannot do without packaging, they optimise the packaging material - taking into account product quality and food losses.
Both companies recently added further goals to their packaging mission. By the end of 2025, it aims to incorporate at least 30% recycled materials in all plastic packaging for own brands products.
