Aldi, Lidl and Co. bypass the plastic bag ban: supermarkets use a controversial trick
Created: 06/25/2022, 08:01
By: Stefan Ruhl
Some retail chains are circumventing the plastic bag ban.
© STPP/Imago
On January 1, 2022, the federal government will introduce a plastic bag ban.
Aldi, Lidl and Co. bypass the regulation and use a simple trick.
Frankfurt – Despite the ban on plastic bags that was only introduced on January 1, 2022, supermarkets such as Aldi, Lidl & Co. and drugstores are circumventing sales regulations.
The manufacturers use a simple trick for this, which at the same time also reveals a large gap in the legislation.
Single-use plastic bags are actually a thing of the past at the checkouts in supermarkets and discounters, but the range of bags has grown again.
The reason for this is that supermarkets and discounters, including well-known names such as Aldi or Lidl, are making their plastic bags a few micrometers thicker and they are no longer subject to the legal restriction.
So the lively selling can continue.
“Fleeting the current law by simply making single-use bags slightly thicker is bad for the environment.
I hope that there won't be a need for legal regulation again."
Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) to the German Press Agency (dpa)
Ban on plastic bags in supermarkets: environmental groups criticize Aldi, Lidl and Co.
Environmental organizations, such as the German Environmental Aid (DUH), criticize the practice of Aldi, Lidl and Co. in the strongest possible terms.
According to the DUH, a deliberate decision is made to deceive customers and to further pollute the environment just to be able to continue using a source of income.
There is a need for action to readjust the law and, if necessary, introduce new restrictions.
Other changes by the discounters, such as the restriction on taking back returnable bottles, are also viewed critically.
The environmental aid accuses markets of offering bags with wall thicknesses between 50 and 60 micrometers in order to circumvent the legal regulation.
A survey of 13 German food retailers and drugstores has found this to be the practice, it said in a statement released on Thursday (June 16).
RTL
and
ntv
had previously
reported on the process.
Law regulating the sale of plastic bags
The legal regulation regulating the sale of plastic bags is one of many innovations that were introduced for supermarkets and discounters on January 1, 2022.
The law was drafted and passed in 2020/21 and was intended to regulate the sale of plastic bags with wall thicknesses ranging from 15 to a maximum of 49 microns.
Exception: The ban does not apply to the very light plastic bags that are used for fruit and vegetables or at fresh food counters.
The law also does not regulate the sale of plastic bags with wall thicknesses of 50 to 60 microns or greater.
The aim is to significantly reduce plastic waste by 2025.
The law came into effect on January 1, 2022.
Plastic bag ban at Aldi, Lidl & Co.: EU law restricts the scope for action
EU law currently prohibits the restriction of thick-walled plastic bags.
In order to be able to introduce further regulations, a lengthy process would have to be initiated in the EU Parliament and the EU Commission.
Only then can national scope for action be increased.
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According to the Federal Environment Agency, 1.5 billion lightweight plastic bags with wall thicknesses of less than 50 micrometers were put into circulation in Germany in 2019, even before the introduction of the plastic bag ban.
A dimension that makes you think.
(stru)
