ALDI has committed to removing single-use plastic from all of its own-brand tea bags by the end of this year. The UK’s fifth-largest supermarket will replace the oil-based plastic sealant on the bags with biodegradable materials. It follows a similar move by Sainsbury’s in January. Aldi said the outer plastic wrapping on boxes will also be dropped. The move means 1.4 billion pieces of single-use plastic will be removed. Richard Gorman, of Aldi, said: “The changes we’ve made to our tea range will help us reduce our environmental impact and offer our customers even more environmentally sustainable options.” He added: “By the end of this year, all of our own-brand tea bags will be biodegradable and contain no plastic whatsoever.”