A new law banning plastic packaging for large quantities of fruits and vegetables came into force in France on New Year’s day. Cucumbers, carrots, lemons, apples and bananas are among the 30 types that were banned from being wrapped in plastic. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59843697

President Emmanuel Macron called the ban “a real revolution” responding to long campaigns against single-use plastics by environmentalists. The move, however, will affect the sector’s packaging industry, especially small companies that use plastic to protect exports. https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220101-france-bans-plastic-packaging-for-fruit-and-veg.

Environment Ministry of France said in a statement, announcing the new law, that the country had been using an “outrageous amount of single use plastics” and the new ban is aimed at “cutting back the use of throwaway plastic and boost its substitution by other materials or reusable and recyclable packaging". Roughly 37% of fruits and vegetables were wrapped and sold in France in 2021. The government expects the ban will do away with single-use plastic packaging of more than 1billion items.

A poll by Ifop for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) France, two years ago, found that nearly 9 out of 10 French consumers support banning single-use plastic in packaging of food products. Over 2million people signed a WWF petition calling on all world governments to stop plastic pollution. (https://www.wwf.fr/sites/default/files/doc-2019-12/20191209_Sondage_Loi_anti_gaspillage_WWF_IFOP.pdf)

Even though most environmental groups have welcomed the move as “positive”, some of them have questioned the list of exempt fruits and vegetables—such as broccoli, mushrooms, peaches and apricots—that have been given a long transition period to adapt to the new law.

Environmentalists also have urged countries, such as Britain, where single-use plastics are indiscriminately used in food packaging. Following in the footsteps of France, Spain announced a ban on plastic packaging on fruits and vegetables weighing less than 1.5 kg from 2023. According to environmental groups, Spain is the largest plastic polluter in the Mediterranean after Turkey.

READ MORE:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/31/thats-a-wrap-french-plastic-packaging-ban-for-fruit-and-veg-begins

https://www.euronews.com/green/2021/12/08/spain-is-banning-fruit-and-veg-wrapped-in-plastic-but-should-your-bag-of-salad-be-spared