Aldi trials major change at some North East stores to cut food waste - and it could be rolled out

Aldi is introducing crownless pineapples in some North East stores as part of a trial to reduce food waste.

With the crown of the pineapple often being thrown away by shoppers, the supermarket will be removing the green leaves from its pineapples during the production process for recycling instead. The removed crowns will either be used to cultivate next year's crop or converted into animal feed, reducing food waste by an estimated 1,400 tonnes annually if the change is rolled out across stores.

The crownless pineapples are now available in selected stores in Tyneside, Wearside and Northumberland, where customers still also have the option to buy pineapples with their leaves attached. By removing the crowns, Aldi will also be able to fit more of the product into boxes to be transported to stores, meaning a potential reduction of around 187 tonnes of cardboard annually if the trial is successful.

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Liz Fox, national sustainability director at Aldi, said: "At Aldi, we are committed to finding sustainable solutions that benefit both our customers and the environment. This trial of crownless pineapples is just one of the latest innovative changes we’re testing out to minimise waste and reduce our carbon footprint."

Earlier this month, the retailer also announced it was going to remove the plastic packaging on its bananas in some stores across the North East. Aldi will replace the traditional plastic bag with a paper band alternative on selected lines, including its Nature’s Pick five-pack, midi bananas and the Organic six-pack.

If this change is implemented nationally, it would help to remove an estimated 234 tonnes of plastic packaging per year. This is among Aldi's efforts to reduce its environmental impact and develop alternative packaging for its products.

The supermarket is introducing thinner bags for its onions, which will save 13 tonnes of plastic annually. It is also replacing the current non-recyclable packaging on its Specially Selected West Country and Yorkshire block butter with a paper-based alternative wrap which can be recycled at home, helping to remove more than 10 tonnes of non-recyclable packaging from circulation each year.