Discount retailer Aldi has announced that its stores in the Netherlands will stop selling single-use shopping bags, both plastic and paper.
Instead, Aldi will introduce a reusable shopping bag that is made from over 80% recycled material. The company says that the new bag is larger and sturdier than a single-use bag.
"This step helps to protect the environment," said Nadie Winde, corporate responsibility manager at Aldi Nederland. "This decision applies not only to environmentally friendly single-use plastic bags, but also to the paper shopping bags."
Transition Period
In order to encourage customers to use the envrionmentally-friendly reusable bag, Aldi will be increasing the price of its single-use bags. The money raised from this initiative will benefit the retailer's sustainability projects. Aldi hopes to have completed the transition period by the end of 2018.
This announcement comes after Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd announced that they will stop supplying disposable bags at their stores in Germany.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
