Lidl To Drop Black Plastic From Produce Packaging

Lidl has committed to cutting its fruit and vegetable packaging waste.

The supermarket giant will drop black plastic – which is unrecyclable and creates unnecessary waste – from its produce packaging by the end of the month.

Waste saving

According to The Guardian, Lidl estimates that the change will help save 50 tonnes of black plastic waste each year – a number forecasted to grow.

By next August, Lidl plans to also eliminate black plastic from fresh meat, poultry, and fish packaging.

The brand intends to replace the harmful plastics with ones that are recyclable, reusable, or refillable.

‘Major shift’

Lidl has outlined its approach to waste reduction on the company website, which includes ditching plastic straws and bags from its stores.

Company CEO Christian Härtnagel said: “We want to create a major shift in the way that packaging and plastics are used, to ensure that these resources are recovered and retained, eradicating plastic waste and moving us towards a truly circular system in the long term.

“We know our business and the wider industry needs to take big steps to achieve this; that’s why we have set clear and ambitious targets, not only to ensure that our packaging is completely recyclable, but that we are driving demand for this material by driving recycled content.”