Aldi UK is aiming to provide full visibility on the journey of flexible plastic packaging from front-of-store collection points through to the recycling process with the help of the Flexible Plastic Fund (FPF).
The Flexible Plastic Fund (FPF) supports supermarkets and independently tracks and verifies material flow using an AI-powered evidence system – eco2Veritas – developed by Greenback Recycling Technologies.
eco2Veritas tracks and certifies the amount of plastic collected, shows how much of it is sorted and into which polymers, and how much is reprocessed and developed in to new products.
Aldi receives funding from the FPF for recycling when the flexible plastic is tracked and certified as recycled by eco2Veritas.
'An Important First Step'
Anthony Meadows, chief digital officer at Greenback commented, “This collaboration is an important first step in making hard-to-recycle plastics circular in the UK. We developed eco2Veritas to incentivise recycling and to bring trust and transparency to drive the circular economy.”
Plastic and packaging director at Aldi UK, Luke Emery stated, “We are committed to tackling plastic waste. We know this is an issue that matters to our customers too, which is why we’re working with the Flexible Plastic Fund to further improve the recycling of flexible plastics collected in our stores.”
In February 2024, Aldi received its first certificate from eco2Veritas, confirming that 62 tonnes of in-scope polyethylene (PE) and 25 tonnes of in-scope polypropylene (PP) were recycled.
Currently, Aldi collects around 300 tonnes of post-consumer flexible plastic packaging each year.
The material from Aldi’s front-of-store collection points is taken to plastics recycler Jayplas until there is enough material to sort into two main polymers (PE and PP).
The material is then pelletised and the PE is used to make refuse sacks, whilst the PP is used to make crates and trays.
The Flexible Plastic Fund (FPF)
The FPF was established in May 2021 by Mars, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever to improve recycling of flexible plastic packaging in the UK.
Partners now include Abel & Cole, Ella’s Kitchen, Kiddylicious, Douwe Egberts, KP Snacks, Lotus Bakeries, McCain Foods, Natural Balance Foods, Ocado Retail, The Collective, pladis and Vitaflo.
