Aldi reached its goal of eliminating all plastic shopping bags from its approximately 2,300 stores by the end of 2023, and at the same time became the first major U.S. retailer to do so. In a letter to customers, Aldi U.S. CEO Jason Hart said the removal of plastic bags will prevent nearly 4,400 tons – or nearly 9 millions pounds of plastic – from going into circulation each year.
Aldi also announced a new goal to transition to natural refrigerants at all U.S. stores by the end of 2035. Beginning this year, the company plans to purchase environmentally friendly refrigerants for all new and remodeled stores, and transition to refrigerants with low global warming potential in other stores.
“Eliminating plastic shopping bags from our stores and transitioning to environmentally friendly refrigerant systems not only helps us protect the environment, but also helps to reduce costs, which we then pass on to our customers,” said Hart.
Aldi U.S. has stores in 38 states and employs about 45,000 associates. Progressive Grocer named Aldi its Retailer of the Year for 2023.