ALDI Australia says it’s set to become the first major Australian supermarket to begin replacing plastic straws with paper alternatives in a boxed drink product.
The retailer is entering a paper straw pilot program across select NSW stores. The initiative will see ALDI replace the plastic straws across thousands of its own-label tropical juice boxes.
Next year, the initiative will be rolled out across all drinks cartons nationwide. The pilot and nationwide rollout, says ALDI, will eliminate more than 40 million plastic straws annually from the Australian environment. This is claimed to equate to 18 tonnes of single-use plastic.
ALDI Australia Buying Director for Drinks Dan Warner says juice boxes are a regular in kids’ lunchboxes and the retailer is exceptionally proud to start offering poppers with less plastic at the same low price.
“Parents on a mission to reduce household waste and their environmental impact can now have peace of mind knowing the drink in their child’s lunchbox contains less plastic, and they aren’t sacrificing convenience or worrying about any impact to their back pockets,” he says.
“It’s crucial to us to deliver the best quality at the most affordable prices. When we can do that, make a change that benefits the planet and doesn’t cost our customers more, it’s a no-brainer.”
Behind the initiative
ALDI says a lot of work, planning and innovation by the retailer’s supplier business partners went into delivering this initiative.
The change in packaging for the pilot scheme juice boxes will be achieved with the support of Tru Blu Beverages.
Tru Blu Beverages CEO Peter Brooks says the beverage company wants to provide every Australian with a quality product at an affordable price and strive for environmentally sustainable manufacturing and packaging solutions.
“Much like us, ALDI has a focus on eradicating unnecessary plastics across the whole supply chain,” he says. “Every piece of plastic removed from the environment, no matter how small, is a positive change and actions like this can have a big impact.”
ALDI customers in select NSW stores can see the new-look, paper straw sporting Westcliff Tropical Fruit Drink packs this month.