Aldi is about to increase the price of its bag for life up to 15p

Stores in the Midlands will also scrap single-use produce bags

Aldi has announced it is upping the price of its bag for life to encourage people to use them more.

The increase will come into effect on Monday February 24 and means the price will increase from 9p to 15p.

Stores in the Midlands will also become the first 100 locations to scrap free single-use fruit and veg bags entirely.

It is believed that it could save 109 tonnes of plastic from circulation each year if it is rolled out nationwide.

The single-use bag be replaced with reusable drawstring bags, to test whether shoppers can be encouraged to bring their own bags for loose fruit and veg or reuse ones they have bought in store.

Fritz Walleczek, managing director of corporate responsibility at Aldi, said: “We are determined to drastically cut single-use plastic, and evolving our approach to the sale and distribution of bags is an important step forward.

“We’ve charged for carrier bags since opening our first UK store in 1990, so our shoppers are already in the habit of reusing them, but these steps will hopefully help people switch to entirely reusable alternatives.”

Last month, Aldi scrapped all plastic applicators from its own-brand tampons, saving 14 tonnes of plastic a year.

The supermarket, which has been carbon neutral since January 2019, is also on track to have all own-label packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2022 and aims to reduce plastic packaging by 25% by the end of 2023.