Lidl launches UK’s first supermarket laundry detergent refill stations

Shoppers will save 20p per refill

Lidl has launched the UK’s first-ever supermarket laundry detergent refill stations in a bid to help its customers cut down on plastic and costs.

The budget supermarket is trialling the innovation in stores in Lichfield, Staffordshire and Swadlincote, Derbyshire.

These trials follow a successful pilot of a larger refill machine at Kingswinford, West Midlands earlier this year.

The new refillable “smart pouch” will see shoppers able to refill their laundry detergent bag with Lidl’s own-brand detergent.

The supermarket has said that shoppers will save 20 per refill when compared to single-use products.

Each machine can fill over 245 pouches, and the pouches have the same capacity as a standard laundry detergent bottle, but use one third less plastic.

Further, by using the pouches, consumers can save 59g of plastic going into the recycling per refill.

The machine was designed by Chilean sustainability start-up Algramo and have been designed to sit on the aisle alongside other detergent bottles.

The refill stations will sit next to the single-use laundry detergents (Lidl)

Shoppers will be able to use a touch screen to pick the detergent they want.

Mark Newbold, CSR Manager at Lidl GB said: “We are incredibly proud of this latest innovation, which will enable our customers to save money and reduce their plastic consumption. We were the first UK supermarket to introduce smart laundry detergent refill stations and now we’re the first to introduce this next generation design.

“It’s our strong belief that good quality and value should go together. We are committed to providing our customers with cost saving solutions that can help their wallets and the planet.”

The innovation follows a similar scheme from Unilever that launched refill stations for toiletries and cleaning products in selected supermarkets last year.

The refill stations were launched at Co-op and Asda stores in Glasgow, York, Rugby, Milton Keynes and Leeds.