Aldi UK  is introducing 100% recyclable packaging for its own-brand boxed cereal. The UK’s fifth-largest supermarket will replace the plastic inner bags holding the cereal with a recyclable alternative before the end of this year.

The change will replace approximately 650 tons of non-recyclable plastic annually – the equivalent to the amount of packaging used by more than 10,000 UK households in a year.

It is part of Aldi’s pledge for all of its private brand packaging to be recyclable, compostable or re-usable by the end of 2022, and for all packaging to be so by 2025.

Chris McKenry, Plastics and Packaging Director at Aldi, said: “Making such a popular product range fully recyclable will have a huge positive impact. Our focus is to offer quality at the lowest price on the market, and we believe that means more than simply offering great products – we have to provide customers with environmentally-sustainable options they can afford too.

“We’ve set ambitious targets to reduce our environmental impact and will continue to step up our efforts to achieve them. This change to our cereal range is just one of a number of initiatives we have in the pipeline that will help us to reach our goal of all packaging, including branded products, being recyclable, compostable or reusable in the next five years.”

In February, Aldi’s CEO Giles Hurley wrote to suppliers offering to work with them to meet the supermarket’s 2022 packaging targets. In July, Aldi committed to removing two billion single items of plastic from its operations by the end of 2025 and has recently introduced several plastic saving initiatives, including the removal of single-use bags for loose fruit and vegetables across its UK stores by the end of the year, which will save more than 100 tons of plastic annually.