News

Jun 02, 2023

Aldi issues bag and trolley rule update as supermarket clamps down on thieves

The message being advertised in one store reads: “When proceeding to the

The message being advertised in one store reads: "When proceeding to the cashier, please ensure all products are placed on the till belts, your carrier bags are empty, and your trolley is clear"

Aldi has introduced strict new bag and trolley checks in some of its store in an apparent move to deter thieves.

One shopper posted a note they saw at their local shop in Swindon on the Aldi UK Shoppers Facebook group.

The message read: "When proceeding to the cashier, please ensure all products are placed on the till belts, your carrier bags are empty, and your trolley is clear.

"Thank you for your cooperation."

This isn't the first store to introduce such measures, according to comments on the Facebook post.

One person replied: "We've had this for a while in Milton Keynes due to people stealing."

Another said: "Yeah my son works at Aldi Cambridgeshire, Peterborough… the same…"

A third person commented on the measures and said: "If you've done nothing wrong you've got nothing to hide.

"They just doing what their employer has told them to do."

A fourth said: "They have so many thefts now it's a disgrace. How people walk into a shop and walk out not paying. I don't blame Aldi."

However, not everyone was a fan, with one person saying: "I wouldn't be happy someone looking through my bag. Unless they have a suspicious obviously."

Another said: "Aldi slowly losing their mind, they know customers do not like this and rivals will jump on this."

A spokesperson from Aldi told The Mirror earlier this year that bag checks are "not a national policy" but "where necessary, checks are sometimes introduced at individual stores as a short-term measure".

The Mirror has contacted Aldi for further comment.

The news comes after Aldi became the first major UK retailer to offer fully recyclable own-label handwash packaging to reduce plastic waste.

The supermarket has removed all of the glass and metal components from the pumps - which means the entire packaging is able to be fully recycled in the UK.

Shoppers will be able to grab the fully recyclable product very easily as Aldi will be selling it across all of its stores in the country.

As a result of the change, Aldi could save over 200 tonnes of packaging material going to landfills a year.

This announcement follows its switch to cardboard packaging for its own-brand porridge pots and its roll out of the soft plastic recycling scheme at the end of last year.