Women putting her groceries in the trunk of car

May 2022

ALDI US commits to eliminating all plastic shopping bags from stores as the first major US retailer

In celebration of Earth Month, ALDI US, which is part of the ALDI SOUTH Group, has announced that they are the first major US retailer to commit to eliminating all plastic bags from stores. The retailer has already removed plastic bags from nearly 500 stores across the US with the goal to phase them out from all 2,200 locations by the end of 2023. ALDI US is thrilled to make this monumental pledge in support of our planet, which will remove 4,400 tons of plastic from circulation each year.

In 2021, ALDI was named the most sustainable grocery store in America. ALDI is proud of this recognition and to be leading the way, pushing the industry forward on sustainability practices. The plastic bag initiative is just one piece of a much larger Corporate Responsibility update from the US.

In the past year, ALDI US has:

significantly reduced our use of plastic and increased the recyclability of our packaging so that more than 62% of ALDI-exclusive packaging is now reusable, recyclable, or compostable.
Installed rooftop solar panels on additional ALDI buildings bringing our total to over 120 stores and 12 distribution centres producing and consuming green electricity from solar power.
Earned more EPA GreenChill store certifications than all grocery retailers in the nation combined for the second year in a row! For many years, we’ve been recognised by the EPA for our industry leadership in making refrigeration more sustainable.
Diverted 74% of operational waste company-wide that would otherwise go to landfills through increased donations, recycling programmes and composting pilots.
Donated over 33 million pounds of food through our partnership with Feeding America.

"While it is incredible to look back on what we have accomplished in 12 months, what excites me most is our ability to go even further together to ensure that as our business grows, our environmental footprint doesn't grow with us."

Jason Hart, CEO at ALDI US