Shoppers rely on major supermarkets not just for affordability but also for responsibility. However, ALDI is now being called out over its alleged inaction regarding a widespread concern. As frustration grows, critics are demanding answers from the retail giant.
ALDI Australia, once praised for its environmental initiatives, has recently come under scrutiny for what many are calling a disappointing step back in its commitment to sustainability. The Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) has released its Unwrapped 2024 audit, which paints a concerning picture of ALDI’s current environmental performance.
The supermarket chain has now been ranked last among the nation’s major supermarkets in terms of reducing plastic packaging and maintaining transparency.
The audit, which assesses the efforts of supermarkets to tackle plastic waste based on criteria such as overall plastic reduction, transparency, commitments to plastic-free alternatives, and progress on reusable packaging, has shown that ALDI’s previous leadership in plastic reduction has taken a nosedive.
In 2023, ALDI was at the top of the rankings, but it has since plummeted to the lowest spot, with a score of just 16 per cent. This is in stark contrast to Woolworths, which leads with 38 per cent, followed by Metcash at 23 per cent, and Coles at 20 per cent.
Despite the concerning audit results, a spokesperson for ALDI Australia has insisted that the retail giant takes its plastic reduction goals seriously.
However, Tara Jones, AMCS’ packaging program manager, has expressed her disappointment, saying, ‘ALDI once led Australia’s supermarkets in reducing plastic packaging and publishing information on its plastic packaging use, so it’s disappointing that it has fallen behind the rest of the field so quickly.’
Jones has pointed out that the figures from the audit clearly indicate the need for the government to deliver on its promise to reform packaging legislation—a sentiment echoed by more than 80 per cent of submissions to the government’s recent consultation on the matter.
In 2019, ALDI set a target to reduce plastic packaging by 25 per cent by 2025 and published data on its plastic packaging use. However, subsequent sustainability reports have provided less information, with the latest report offering no data to calculate ALDI’s plastic use or to confirm if there has been any reduction in overall use.
ALDI has stated that making packaging more sustainable is a priority and that it is working with producers and manufacturers to improve the circularity of packaging. The supermarket claims that ‘84.1 per cent of its exclusive brand packaging is now recyclable, reusable, or compostable.’
‘ALDI Australia is also an endorser of the Global Plastics Treaty to End Plastic Pollution,’ a spokesperson told Yahoo.
Despite these claims, critics argue that ALDI’s lack of transparency regarding its packaging footprint and the actions it is taking to reach its reduction target is concerning. The AMCS audit reportedly found no evidence of ALDI cutting its overall plastic use, and there is a call for supermarkets to be fully transparent and to improve their efforts to cut plastic use.
We invite you, our YourLifeChoices readers, to share your thoughts and experiences. Have you noticed an increase in plastic packaging at your local ALDI? Do you feel supermarkets are doing enough to address plastic pollution? Join the conversation in the comments below.
Also read: Recycling plastic is hard. Could Australia go back to reusing bottles like Germany?
