Irish Examiner View: Aldi pledge to tackle plastic crisis and cut use 50% by 2025

Aldi plans to remove 9,874 tonnes of plastic packaging over five years, or the equivalent of 200 million single items of plastic.

Aldi, which has 12.5% of the Irish grocery market plans to cut plastic use in half within five years. Picture: Denis Scannell

For many years, we exported 95% of our plastic waste to China. Four years ago, China closed off the see-no-evil bolt hole and banned Irish plastic waste imports. At that time, we generated, per head, more plastic waste than any other EU country. That destructive behaviour, and more importantly, the mindset behind it, was unsustainable.

Efforts to encourage better habits were made last year when Government proposed that single-use coffee cups be hit with a levy of up to 25 cent. That idea has yet to be finalised, though it has forced many retailers to start using recyclable cups. The threat was enough but that will fade so a legal sanction might still be needed. Like all retailers, those who changed to help consumers do the right thing, they should be supported.