The Flexible Plastics Fund, established in May 2021, brings together five founding partners: Mars, Mondelēz International, Nestlé, PepsiCo, and Unilever, under the leadership of the producer compliance scheme Ecosurety.
Powered by AI, the group utilizes an 'evidence system' named eco2Veritas, developed by Greenback Recycling Technologies. This system tracks and certifies the collection, sorting, reprocessing, and end-product outcomes of flexible plastics.
Within this framework, when flexible plastics are verified as recycled by eco2Veritas, Aldi receives funding from the FPF to support the recycling process.
In February 2024, Aldi received its first certificate from eco2Veritas, confirming the recycling of 62 tonnes of Polyethylene (PE) and 25 tonnes of Polypropylene (PP) collected over several months in 2023. Additional volumes are expected to undergo certification soon.
Aldi currently collects approximately 300 tonnes of post-consumer flexible plastic packaging annually. This material is taken to plastics recycler Jayplas, where it's stockpiled until there's enough to sort into PE and PP. The PE is used for refuse sacks, while the PP is used for crates and trays.
Luke Emery, Aldi UK's plastic and packaging director, expressed the supermarket's commitment to addressing plastic waste and highlighted the collaboration with the Flexible Plastic Fund to enhance flexible plastic recycling.
The initiative aims to provide necessary transparency to ensure confidence in the recycling process and ultimately contribute to its success.
Gareth Morton, FPF project lead at Ecosurety, commended the dedication of all involved parties in making this initiative possible. He emphasized the importance of initiatives like this in building public and industry confidence in recycling efforts.
