SHOPPERS from North Wales will be part of a new nationwide carrier bag trial at a discount supermarket chain.

After scrapping the use of 5p plastic bags earlier in the year, Aldi is now preparing to begin a test period which will see shoppers offered either paper or compostable bags instead.

From July, half of Aldi’s 830 UK stores will offer biodegradable carrier bags while the remaining stores will hand out paper bags to buyers.

Following the trial, Aldi is expecting to roll out the more popular option to all of their stores across the United Kingdom, to be sold alongside their other reusable bags.

Each of the five stores across Flintshire and Wrexham will be introducing 6p compostable bags to their checkouts when the trial begins in July.

This will be the cheaper option of the two, with the paper bags being sold elsewhere for 19p.

The new compostable bags – which are made of a bio-degradable material called bioplast - are designed to be completely domestically compostable within 12 months.

It is hoped that the pioneering new bag trial could help to save up to 1,300 tonnes of plastic – equivalent to 33.3 million carrier bags - each year in the UK.

Fritz Walleczek, managing director of corporate responsibly at Aldi, said: “Cutting waste is part of Aldi’s DNA and we are constantly looking for new ways to reduce our environmental impact.

“This new trial is one of the biggest we have ever launched because we want our customers in to be involved and help us make the right decision for them and the environment.

“Reducing the amount of plastic we produce is fundamental to our commitment to being a sustainable and environmentally responsible business.

“This trial will enable us to work with shoppers in Wales to identify what works for them so that we can find the best long-term solution.

Later this summer, Welsh customers will also have the opportunity to choose from even more sustainable options when the German supermarket chain launches two further bags.

One is expected to be a reusable bag which will be made entirely from Aldi back of store waste, while the other will be a cotton alternative.

The changes to Aldi’s carrier bag system are part of the brand’s wider efforts to cut plastic across all of its UK stores.

Alongside the trial, the supermarket has also set out two new plastic and packaging pledges, which have been added to its 10 original pledges unveiled last year.

Aldi is pledging to try and remove recycling unfriendly packaging (including polystyrene and PVC) from its core food range by the end of 2020, while also aiming to reduce plastic packaging by 25 per cent by the end of 2023.