Aldi’s coalition with TerraCycle aspires to recycle plastic and aluminium foil medicine packaging

Aldi, the German budget supermarket chain, has announced a thrilling new partnership with recycling company TerraCycle. Together, they will help customers recycle their used Aldi-branded plastic and aluminium foil medicine packaging. This recycling initiative kicked off on October 9 and will run across all Aldi stores in the UK.

Aldi’s customers can now send their empty blister packs in an envelope via any Royal Mail Post Office or postbox. The packaging can be shipped with a Freepost shipping label obtained from Aldi’s website. During the trial phase, one customer can send up to two envelopes per month.

Luke Emery, Director of Aldi UK Plastics and Packaging, exemplified: “We are committed to reducing our impact on the environment and continue to look for new ways to promote recycling wherever possible.”

“We hope our customers will get involved in the trial and embrace this new way of recycling their empty blister packets,” Luke asserted.

Once received, TerraCycle will convert the empty packaging into recycled raw material, which can be used for making new products such as outdoor furniture and compartments of aluminium or plastic waste bins. This is an excellent opportunity for Aldi to show its commitment to the environment and take a significant step towards sustainability.

Aluminium is 100% recyclable and can retain its original properties after rigorous transformational rounds. Also, recycling aluminium saves almost 95 per cent of the energy required in primary aluminium production. Aldi’s partnership with TerraCycle will propel the reuse of end-of-life packaging materials, creating a material loop which is invaluable to the environment.

Julien Tremblin, the General Manager of TerraCycle Europe, remarked: “The removal of pharmaceutical packaging from landfill and incineration remains a key focus.”

“We are delighted to work with Aldi on this new medicine blister pack recycling scheme, which will enable the creation of a more circular plastic packaging chain,” Tremblin added.

Waste and Resources Action Programme senior specialist Adam Herriott motioned: “Blister packs are a product that cannot currently be recycled at kerbside and are instead disposed of in general waste, so we fully support this trial.”

Moreover, Aldi is a part of the Podback recycling scheme, which enables its customers to recycle their used coffee, tea, and hot chocolate pods. Being the first supermarket to have joined the Podback scheme, Aldi has once again proved its dedication towards sustainable development.

If the aluminium recycling world draws your interest, please have a look at AL Circle’s specially curated report, World Recycled Aluminium Market Analysis, which details the prevailing initiatives in the sector alongside citing some of the upcoming functional changes.