by Sam Hawcroft
Work under way at Aldi in Withernsea is for equipment connected with a new national scheme allowing shoppers to return empty drinks containers and reclaim a deposit, the supermarket has confirmed.
Cllr Jon Dimberline raised curiosity on social media about the construction work after speaking to a contractor at the Queen Street store.
He said he had been told that new recycling equipment was being installed which would issue customers with vouchers when they returned containers, adding that Withernsea appeared to be “ahead of the bunch”.
Aldi later confirmed: “We are installing equipment for the Deposit Return Scheme, launching in October 2027.”
The scheme will begin in England and Northern Ireland on October 1, 2027, when customers will pay a refundable deposit when buying drinks in certain single-use containers.
The deposit will cover containers made mainly from aluminium, steel or PET plastic, ranging in capacity from 150ml to three litres. Glass containers and high-density polyethylene containers, such as most plastic milk bottles, will not be included.
Customers will then be able to return eligible empty containers to a designated point and receive their deposit back by voucher, card or cash. The amount has not yet been announced.
This means the money returned will not be an additional reward for recycling, but a refund of the deposit paid when the drink was bought.
Under government guidance for the Deposit Return Scheme, supermarkets, grocery shops, convenience stores and newsagents selling drinks covered by it will generally have to provide a return point unless they qualify for an exemption.
Return points may be operated manually or through automated equipment known as reverse vending machines. Retailers will also be responsible for storing returned containers for collection and displaying information explaining how the scheme works.
Aldi has not provided further details about the equipment at Withernsea, when it will be ready or whether the store will be among the first in the country to have it installed.
However, the work means the supermarket is preparing more than a year in advance of the scheme’s national launch.
The work has also prompted complaints from some shoppers who say it is taking up disabled parking spaces. Aldi has not yet commented further on this disruption, nor said how many spaces will be permanently lost as a result of the new equipment.