Lidl UK is opening its thirteenth and largest regional distribution centre in Doncaster.

It is investing £70 million in the new warehouse in Doncaster which will be its largest in the UK at 624,300 square feet. The new facility is predicted to process around 4,000 pallets a day, and deliver to 53 stores across South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the Midlands initially.

Tsvetelina Butrakova, Lidl UK Regional Director for Doncaster, said: “We’re extremely excited to mark the start of the year with the opening of our Doncaster distribution centre, which plays an essential role in enabling us to meet growing customer demand for Lidl products.”

Supporting new store openings

Lidl opened a store in Rossington recently and plans to open new stores in Rotherham, Chesterfield, Nottingham and Mapplewell by the end of the year. The new site will service these stores.

Source: IGD Research

Rapid expansion

The Doncaster site will be the third to open in the last two years and there are plans for four further DCs by 2025, as well as a replacement for its Livingston warehouse to a new site near Motherwell. It has committed to invest £1.45 billion in the UK, with 740 stores in the UK, and plans for 50 new store per year.

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In a move that could remove 50 tonnes of waste a year, Lidl has announced plans to stop using black plastic across its fruit and vegetable range.

Eliminating waste

Black plastic is not currently recyclable in the UK as it can’t be detected by plastic recycling sorting systems. Over the coming weeks, Lidl will work to remove the use of black plastic across many of its fruit and vegetable range, including mushrooms, baby sweetcorn, asparagus, broccoli and cauliflower. It will instead continue to trial more loose produce across the range.

Lidl has committed further to this project, announcing its intention to stop using black plastic from its fresh meat, fish and poultry ranges by August 2019.

Focus on sustainability Commercial board director Ryan McDonnell said: “This significant move away from black plastic demonstrates our dedication to tackling this important topic. We recognise the current challenge that black plastic presents to the recycling industry, which is why we have made it our priority to remove it from our fresh ranges. As part of our commitment to achieving our ambitious targets, we are continually exploring opportunities to cut our packaging, and where packaging is necessary to protect food and minimise food waste, we will ensure that it is reusable, refillable or recyclable.”

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