Aldi, Pact Group raise recycled content to 50% in household packaging
Using nearly 800 metric tons of locally recycled resin annually, the project relies on curbside bottles, milk, laundry, shampoo, detergent, processed at Pact’s Circular Plastics Australia facility in Melbourne.
AUSTRALIA – Pact Group and Aldi have launched a recycled household plastic packaging initiative, aiming to produce more than 19 million laundry and cleaning bottles annually using up to 50% Australian recycled plastic.
The project is set to use almost 800 metric tons of locally recycled plastic resin each year.
Plastic collected through curbside recycling bins, including empty milk, laundry, shampoo and detergent bottles, will be processed into recycled resin at the Pact-operated Circular Plastics Australia recycling facility in Melbourne.
The resin will later be manufactured into laundry and cleaning product bottles for Aldi.
Value Chain Collaboration Maintains Affordability
Siobhan McCrory, executive general manager for sales, marketing and innovation at Pact, said the initiative represented circularity in action, with plastic packaging waste placed in household recycling bins turned back into new packaging and returned to supermarket shelves at scale.
She added that the companies had shown recycled plastic packaging and affordability could go hand in hand, noting that through smart design, manufacturing efficiencies and value chain collaboration, they had significantly increased recycled content without compromising quality or cost.
The rollout is delivered in a commercially neutral way, with the partners utilising coloured resin to offset the additional costs of recycled content.
Aldi Doubles Recycled Content Across Laundry and Cleaning Ranges
According to Aldi, seven of the company’s own-brand laundry range bottles and containers are made with up to 50% locally produced recycled plastic resin, doubling their current recycled content levels.
Moreover, three cleaning product bottles have increased their recycled content to up to 50%.
Matthew Suckling, buying director at Aldi Stores, said customers expected quality, value and increasingly sustainable products, adding that by partnering with Pact, the retailer had significantly increased recycled content in laundry and cleaning packaging while maintaining the affordability Aldi is known for.
Three-Year Strategic Partnership Renewed
The two companies have also renewed a three-year strategic partnership to focus on packaging design and affordable packaging opportunities for the retailer’s food and household products.
This year, Aldi and Arla collaborated with recycling technology platform Polytag on an operational pilot to track milk bottle packaging through the recycling process using UV-tagging technology.
The project adopted Sun Chemical’s specially developed ink on wrap-around labels to provide comprehensive recycling data.
Last year, Ineos Styrolution launched sour cream cups made with 30% recycled polystyrene, available in Aldi Süd stores across Germany.
The Australian initiative reflects growing momentum among retailers to meet recycled-content targets through domestic processing infrastructure, reducing reliance on imported recyclate while supporting local circular economy development.
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