Lidl Launches New 'Waste Not' Boxes

Lidl has become the first supermarket retailer in Northern Ireland to implement the rollout of a major new initiative aimed at reducing food waste and bringing shoppers even more savings at the tills.

Lidl NI's Waste Not boxes, priced at just £2.50, will contain at least 5kg of mixed fruit and vegetables which are perfectly good to eat but have been separated from other products which have become slightly damaged and removed from multipacks.

The retailer's Waste Not boxes are the ideal solution for those looking to achieve a balance of eating a healthy diet while also saving money, with the approximate full retail value of the produce in the boxes totalling £5-£7.

The fruit and veg boxes from Lidl Northern Ireland will be picked and packed daily by the retailer's dedicated in-store Green Leaders, who conduct freshness checks on fresh produce four times a day. Boxes will be available to customers daily until stocks last every day, at which point, any leftover boxes will be given to local good causes through Lidl Northern Ireland's surplus food redistribution partnership with FoodCloud.

The initiative was announced today after a successful trial period, which launched in September 2022, saw more than 3,700 Waste Not boxes sold and prevented 18,500kg of food going to waste. It is estimated that the region-wide rollout will save a further 222,000kg of food waste per year.

Robert Ryan, Chief Operating Officer, Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland said: "Lidl Northern Ireland's new Waste Not Fruit and Veg Boxes initiative is a great way for customers to eat healthily at an affordable price. Crucially, the initiative plays a significant role in our overarching sustainability strategy and helps protect the planet and our local communities by helping combat the important issue of fresh food going to landfill.

"We have a dedicated team of Green Leaders who will ensure that the fruit and veg that make it to the boxes are of the highest quality that customers have come to expect when shopping with Lidl Northern Ireland, and we look forward to seeing more shoppers benefit from this scheme which has already been so well received."

The initiative is the latest move by the retailer to further its ambitious sustainability strategy and is an extension of Lidl Northern Ireland's established Waste Not initiative which reduces food waste across its store network by around 137,500kg annually.

Launched in 2019, the scheme offers customers a significant price reduction on a range of chilled food products that have reached their best before date but are still perfectly fresh and fine to eat.

Lidl Northern Ireland has been working with FoodCloud since 2017 and through this partnership has redistributed the equivalent of over 3.5 million meals to charities across the region.