At Aldi Stores you:
- Rent the Shopping Cart
- You pay for your plastic bags
- Find a warehouse store style store
To keep prices low for the customers, Aldi has implemented a great system that prevents the Aldi grocery carts from ending up in the ditch (where you can find lots of the competitors' grocery carts). You put a quarter in the cart, when you pick it up, and when you return the cart you get the quarter back. This is a system that many European countries have been using for years, and I am sure that we will get used to it here in Florida as well.
Aldi check out prices:- An Aldi Shopping Cart cost: a quarter to rent
- Aldi plastic bags cost $0.10
- Aldi paper bags cost $0.06
- Ecofriendly bags cost $1.99
To circumvent the check out cost and help the environment the best thing to do is use reusable bags, or a collapsible basket.
While reusable bags are great, it is important that they are washed regularly, as they are breeding grounds for bacteria.
Great idea on washing the bags--I haven't used too many except at CVS and never thought of that need. The first time I went to Aldi I saved an extra quarter as a man shouted at us and gave us his cart because he didn't want to push it all way back up to the store. I thought it interesting yours are inside the store, ours are outside.
ReplyDeleteAt least the picture looks like they are on the inside--perhaps they are not.
ReplyDeleteI love both the shopping card & bag policy at Aldi's ... I believe that we should all be responsible for returning carts ... it's just common courtesy. And charging for bags helps keep plastic out of landfills and reminds us to reuse. All while saving us money ... brilliant!
ReplyDeleteAldi policies are a new concept to me. Charging for bags and paying a deposit on carts I think it is a way to stick it to the consumer at a time when grocery prices are increasing at an alarming rate. garrettsambo@aol.com
ReplyDeleteNot sure how it's "sticking" it to the consumer. You get your quarter back, and you can always grab empty boxes from the shelves or ask them for boxes. You can bring your own from home. Those don't cost anything.
ReplyDeleteThere is an Office Depot right next to our Aldi store, and it always amazes me how different the parking lots look. The Office Depot part is cluttered with carts everywhere, while there is rarely a cart on the Aldi lot...and if you find one you earn $0.25:)
ReplyDelete@ purango It's not 'sticking it', trust me. Aldi's prices MORE than make up the few measly cents it takes to buy some bags. And if you still shop at regular stores for anything, you can bring in those bags and reuse them.
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