Pact Group and Aldi are scaling up recycled packaging in Australia, with more than 19 million laundry and cleaning bottles annually to contain up to 50 per cent Australian recycled plastic.
The rollout will use almost 800 tonnes of locally recycled plastic resin annually, turning household plastic waste from kerbside recycling bins into new packaging for household products Australians use every day.
Plastic collected through kerbside recycling bins – including empty milk, laundry, shampoo and detergent bottles – are processed into recycled resin at the Pact-operated Circular Plastics Australia recycling facility in Melbourne, before being manufactured into new laundry and cleaning product bottles for Aldi.
Seven of Aldi's own-brand laundry range bottles and containers are now made with up to 50 per cent locally produced recycled plastic resin – double their current recycled content levels. Three cleaning product bottles have also increased their recycled content to up to 50 per cent.
The laundry bottles and containers are manufactured at Pact's packaging facilities, while Aldi's laundry and cleaning liquids are produced and filled at Pact's Contract Manufacturing facility before being distributed to Aldi stores nationwide.
Siobhan McCrory, EGM sales, marketing and innovation at Pact, said the initiative demonstrates what is possible when retailers and manufacturers work together to accelerate Australia's circular economy.
“This is circularity in action. Plastic packaging waste placed in household recycling bins is being turned back into new packaging and returned to supermarket shelves at scale,” said McCrory.
“Just as importantly, we’ve shown that recycled plastic packaging and affordability can go hand-in-hand.
“Through smart design, manufacturing efficiencies and collaboration across the value chain, we've been able to significantly increase recycled content without compromising quality or cost.”
According to Matthew Suckling, director – national buying at Aldi, said the initiative reflects Aldi's ongoing commitment to reducing its environmental footprint, while delivering value to customers.
“Our customers expect quality, value and increasingly sustainable products,” Suckling explained.
“By partnering with Pact, we have been able to significantly increase the recycled content in our laundry and cleaning packaging while maintaining the affordability that Aldi is known for.”
A key feature of the rollout is that it has been delivered in a commercially neutral way. Pact and Aldi worked together to utilise coloured resin to offset the additional costs of recycled content.
Pact and Aldi have also agreed to renew a three-year strategic partnership to focus on packaging design and affordable sustainable packaging opportunities for the retailer’s food and household products.
Videos of the initiative are available here:
