British supermarket chains Aldi and Waitrose have decided to stop selling disposable barbecues across all of their stores in the UK.
The move is intended to support efforts by different charities and environmental organisations to reduce the impact of plastic waste on the environment and wildlife.
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Aldi will implement the ban across its stores in the country, having stopped selling disposable barbecues at its Buxton store in June last year.
The retailer expects to remove nearly 35t of single-use waste packaging through this initiative.
Aldi has also committed to making all its own-label product packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by the end of this year.
Aldi UK corporate responsibility director Liz Fox said: “We are committed to reducing our impact on the environment and know that many of our shoppers are increasingly looking to do the same.
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By GlobalData“We hope customers can embrace our latest move and still want them to enjoy their summer picnics and barbecues.
“As an alternative, we would encourage customers to opt for more environmentally friendly and sustainable options such as mini portable barbecues, ensuring they are used responsibly.”
In a separate initiative, Waitrose will stop selling disposable grills over the coming months.
The company anticipates that this will save around 70,000 disposable barbecues from being sold a year, thereby reducing its annual production of foil by 73.5t and that of shrink-wrap plastic by 11.2t.
Waitrose buyer Lucy Comer said: “Disposable barbecues present a risk to our natural habitats and this is why we’ve committed to removing them from our shelves this year.
“This is the right thing to do to preserve our local ecosystems and another example of the work we’re doing to protect the planet.
Waitrose has also partnered with Müller to eliminate coloured caps from milk bottles as part of a plastic recycling trial.
