Supermarkets and grocery stores can have a lot of waste, but it is what they do with all the produce and unsold food that makes the difference between one chain and another. There has been for years a global commitment to reduce waste, especially in commercial settings, which is where it can make the biggest difference, and the German chain Aldi is one of the retailers that is making a concerted effort to try to do better. It is no wonder since sustainability is one of their core values, but that does not mean that the public does not still find it surprising that they take actionable steps to donate the surplus that is still good enough to eat.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), between 30% and 40% of the country’s total food supply ends up in landfills, which means that massive chains like Walmart or Aldi are the ones that really need to lead by example if they want to enact any meaningful change in the world. And with more than 2,500 stores nationwide, never mind the ones that they have around the world, Aldi’s contribution to the cause cannot be overstated.
They have stated repeatedly that they strongly support sustainable practices that seek to positively impact the community and the environment, and their commitment to not waste food is one of those practices.
Things that Aldi does to improve their footprint on the planet
Since food waste is such a problem, Aldi’s solution has been simple, they have chosen to operate smaller stores that are more efficient and have an optimized assortment. What this means in practical terms is that, while most American supermarkets average 40,000 square feet, Aldi stores are limited to 12,000 square feet.
The difference is staggering, and the compact size not just helps reduce energy consumption but also limits the volume of products that need to be on display to entice customers and make them think that they need to consume and, therefore, reduces overall waste. They also use a digital system that automatically calculates the necessary quantities of products based on local demand, which allows them to avoid having to have excess inventory just in case.
But while they do better than other stores, there is still (and there will always be) some unsold merchandise as there needs to be a bit of extra stock or the products are just not as popular as expected on a given day or week. Aldi does not just throw away this extra stock of unsold products, instead, the company chooses to donate the food that is still labeled as fit for consumption to the Feeding America network of food banks.
And that is not all they do, non-edible products are repurposed for recycling or animal feed (in 2021, more than 1.9 million pounds of unfit food were redirected for these purposes in Midwestern stores).
However, their commitment goes beyond food waste, and that is in part what has made them popular in the country. Aldi also seems committed to eliminating waste in other ways, so much so that since 2016, the chain has been part of the USDA and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2030 Champions program.
They are also experts in reducing packaging waste, instead of creating eye-catching displays that are discarded after a few days, products are displayed in the same packaging in which they were shipped, which saves both time and resources, and given that they do not offer plastic or paper bags that packaging often gets reused by customers, making their impact even smaller. This policy, which in other contexts might seem uncomfortable, reinforces a culture of responsible consumption among shoppers.