Supermarkets should be banned from selling fresh produce such as bananas, apples and potatoes in plastic packaging so we can shop “like our grandmother” again, according to influential anti-waste charity Wrap.
Calls on the government to ban packaging of 21 fruits and vegetables sold in supermarkets, including salad tomatoes, carrots and avocados, by 2030.
After weighing up the other options, including new taxes or subsidies, Wrap said a government ban would be the most effective way to break a cycle that contributes to UK households throwing away almost 100 billion pieces of plastic packaging a year and resulting in huge quantities of food. waste.
Faced with the same plastic problem, other countries such as France have already passed laws that prohibit the packaging of many fresh products.
Harriet Lamb, chief executive of Wrap, admitted “this will be difficult” for British shoppers brought up to buy fruit and vegetables in packets, adding that any ban would be “one of the biggest changes to the retail landscape for a long time”.
In 2018, UK supermarkets and food companies signed voluntary targets to reduce plastic packaging. The targets of the UK Plastics Pact, led by Wrap, whose work helps shape government policy on sustainability, included a target for 50% of uncut fruit and vegetables to be sold in bulk for end of the decade.
The call for a ban suggests this goal will not be achieved without government intervention, and Wrap called for a formal consultation.
A progress report published late last year said that in 2022 an average of 19.4% of fresh produce sales were loose, and the proportion by retailer ranged between 2% and 30%. In comparison, in continental Europe it is 50%.
Plastic packaging had resulted in less waste in stores, simpler production lines and tidier shelves, Lamb said, but the flip side was that about 30% of fresh produce purchased ended up in the trash because the sizes of established packages forced people to buy too much.
A ban on packaging of the 21 foods (when sold in quantities less than 1.5kg) could remove 100,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables from the container each year and 13,000 tonnes of single-use plastic film, Wrap said. It proposes a second phase that would extend the ban to all uncut produce, including red fruits and herbs.
While two-thirds of shoppers say they prefer to select and weigh products, in practice they don't always do so. In stores where products are already sold in bulk, Lamb urged people to buy “like our grandmother in the days when everyone chose what they wanted in the supermarket.”
Companies needed to make it easier for shoppers to compare prices and weight of products, he said, but “the last step in the dance is regulation with a timeline, creating a level playing field and a mandate to change.”
after newsletter promotion
The call for a ban comes as separate research found that 51% of food and drink in UK supermarkets comes in unnecessary plastic packaging, representing 29.8 billion avoidable pieces a year.
The study, commissioned by packaging giant DS Smith, looked at more than 1,500 products and found the worst offenders were processed foods, including ready meals and meal kits. Avoidable plastic was found in 90% of ready meals and meal kits, 89% of bread, rice and cereals, 83% of dairy products and 80% of meat and fish.
In a statement, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “This Government is committed to cleaning up Britain and cracking down on plastic waste. we are going to deploy extended producer responsibility [a new packaging tax] incentivize companies to reduce plastic packaging and the deposit return system to encourage consumers to recycle.”
The list of objectives to ban plastic packaging
apples
eggplants
avocados
Bananas
Broccoli
Coles
Carrots
Garlic
Ginger
lemons
limes
mangoes
onions
oranges
parsnips
pears
peppers
Potatoes
tomatoes for salad
Pumpkin
Swedish
f6L">Source link