ALDI ranked best grocery for curtailing plastics, but Greenpeace says none are doing enough

Southern California supermarkets ranked high in their efforts to eliminate single-use plastics, but they still aren’t doing nearly enough, according to a new report by Greenpeace.

ALDI topped the list of 20 of the countries largest groceries surveyed, followed by Kroger — which owns Ralphs and Food 4 Less — Albertsons, Trader Joe’s, Sprouts and Walmart.

But even ALDI received just 35 points out of 100 possible on the scorecard. While Greenpeace praised some of the company’s efforts, the ardent environmental advocacy group scolded all of the stores for not doing enough.

“Grocery retailers across the country sell obscene amounts of products in throwaway plastics every single day, yet none of them are acting with the urgency needed to address the pollution crisis they’re causing,” said Greenpeace David Pinsky.

Worldwide, less than 10 percent of plastics are recycled. With China phasing out the importation of recyclable plastics, Nos. 3 through 7 are increasing ending up in California landfills. Plastic packaging wrap is rarely recycled.

Pinsky also said that more aggressive policies by the supermarkets would “pressure consumer goods companies like Nestle, Coca-Cola and Unilever to act as well.”

The lowest ranking Southern California grocery was WinCo Foods at No. 17. The company has just 14 stores in region. The next lowest in Southern California was Whole Foods at No. 11.

Target ranked seventh and Costco ranked eighth out of the 20 companies in the report.

Greenpeace based its scores on policies, initiatives, plastic reduction and transparency in terms of how well it communicates its plastics-reduction goals and strategies to the public.

“ALDI is one of three profiled retailers with a specific public reduction target and one of only two profiled retailers to receive a passing score in the transparency category,” according to the study. “While ALDI still failed, it appears headed in the right direction.”

When told that Greenpeace had included ALDI in its criticism that all the groceries it looked at fell short, company spokewoman Bonnie Efird noted that “by 2025, 100 percent of ALDI packaging, including plastic packaging, will be reusable, recyclable or compostable. The commitment also includes a reduction in packaging material across its entire range by at least 15 percent.”

Whole Foods is often seen as one of the more environmentally sensitive groceries and last year ranked first in Greenpeace’s study of seafood sustainability, two points Greenpeace notes in its new plastics report. Additionally, the chain banned single-use plastic carryout bags in 2008 and last month announced it was phasing out plastic straws.

“However, aside from its recent straws announcement, Whole Foods has largely been quiet on its website regarding single-use plastics,” the report says. “Whole Foods did not provide any information on its overall plastic footprint, and it is unclear if it will do so in the future.”

Whole Foods, Kroger and WinCo Foods did not respond to requests for comment.