From next month half of all Aldi stores in the UK will offer paper bags and the rest will offer compostable carrier bags.
At the end of the trial, the option most popular with customers will be selected to roll out across the UK and offered alongside Aldi’s other reusable bags.
Retailers in the USA have been using large paper bags for decades, and given the current focus on plastic waste, this development seems long overdue in the UK.
This interesting development is somewhat curbed by the unexpectedly high charge for a paper bag – 19p; it certainly will be interesting to see the percentage of customers that are prepared to spend 19p per paper bag that will last a few shopping trips.