Here's How Aldi Plans To Become More Sustainable

When it comes to shopping ethically, you can't do better than Aldi. According to Packaging Gateway, the brand recently did away with plastic straws on all of their UK store-brand drinks in an effort to lessen their carbon footprint. This move came on the heels of recent news that the chain plans to reduce their overall environmental impact by 2025 and has a few key changes in store that can affect the ways we shop (via Supermarket News).

Aldi has some lofty goals to do some real good over the course of the next few years. According to Supply Chain Dive, Aldi intends to reduce its food waste by 50 percent by 2030, exclusively use reusable or recyclable packaging material by 2025, and reduce its packaging material by 15 percent in the next four years. In order to reach some of these goals, your typical Aldi experience might receive a bit of a makeover to accommodate the ecological steps forward.

In order to realize these changes, the brand plans to start installing solar panels on their stores and distribution sites (via Supply Chain Dive). Additionally, the store plans to do away with styrofoam by the end of 2021, while slowly reducing the amount of packaging found on each item. They plan to start sustainably sourcing Barissimo and Simply Nature coffees by the end of 2022, while placing additional solar panels on warehouses found in Kansas and Alabama, in addition to 60 stores nationwide. The changes don't stop there. Aldi intends to start using natural refrigerants in all of its freezers across the country, making your shopping experience that much more wholesome.

These changes come after competing brands like Kroger have announced new sustainability goals. In order to stay in the game, Aldi's new dedication to the environment can keep us shopping there guilt-free as we take heart in knowing that the brand has taken active steps to help maintain the environment. Next time you make a grocery run and notice the new solar panels on your local Aldi, you can feel that much more excited knowing that you support a brand that continues to do their part for the Earth.