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France Bans Plastic Packaging On Fruit And Veg
A new law which bans plastic packaging on most fruit and vegetables came into effect on 1st January in France.
A total of 30 different types of fruit and veg will be banned from having any plastic wrapping, including bananas, pears, lemons, oranges and kiwis, with the exception of packages over 1.5kg being exempt.
Over one third of all fruit and veg had previously been sold in plastic packaging. The government predicts that this new legislation could prevent over a billion items of single use plastics being used every year.
Environmentalists have long campaigned against single-use plastics as pollution continues to worsen across the globe.
The country’s President, Emmanuel Macron said the ban is "a real revolution" and said it demonstrated the country's commitment to phase out single use plastics by 2040.
However, the packaging companies say the decree which was laid out in October 2021 caught them by surprise, particularly the ban on recycled plastics.
Laurent Grandin, head of the fruit and vegetable sector’s Intefel association said “we were never consulted”.
Philippe Binard, from the European Fresh Produce Association, said the "removal of plastic packaging from most fruit and vegetables at such short notice does not allow alternatives to be tested and introduced in a timely manner and stocks of existing packaging to be cleared".
Spain plans to follow suit and ban plastic packaging from fruit and veg from 2023 and other European countries are said to be planning to do the same.
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