Spain set to ban plastic wrapping on supermarket fruit and veg

Spain set to ban plastic wrapping on supermarket fruit and veg

By Lucy Jones  October 6th, 2021

Naked produce will soon be the norm in Spanish supermarkets as the government looks at a range of measures to encourage reuse and recyclable packaging.

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Plastic wrapped produce will be banned in Spain from the beginning of 2023 if a draft decree is successfully signed into law.

The ban would prohibit plastic wrapping on products that weigh less than 1.5 kilograms, following similar legislation set to be introduced in France from 2022.

"[We want to] fight the overuse of packaging in the most effective way," a ministry spokesperson said, adding plastic pollution "has exceeded all limits".

The decree also outlines a suite of measures for reusable container and recyclable packaging use with the goals of halving the sale of plastic drink bottles and reaching a rate of 100 per cent recyclable packaging by 2030.

It stipulates that hotels, restaurants and cafeterias should be using reusable bottles at a rate of 50 per cent by 2025 and 60 per cent by 2030. Soft drinks have a target of 70 per cent recyclable packaging by 2025 and 80 per cent by 2030 while beer has the ambitious targets of 80 per cent by 2025 and 90 per cent by 2030.

As part of these packaging measures Spanish lawmakers are also looking to discourage plastic water bottle use by installing water fountains in public spaces and minimise plastic cup use by limiting the number of plastic cups that can be handed out at public events.

Story via El País.

Positive Environment News has been compiled using publicly available information. Planet Ark does not take responsibility for the accuracy of the original information and encourages readers to check the references before using this information for their own purposes.

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Lucy Jones

Lucy started her career working as a writer and editor in print and digital publishing. She went on to create content for Australia's leading sustainable fashion platform while completing her Master of Cultural Studies. Lucy spends her downtime at the beach, crocheting and hanging out with her cat Larry. She believes words can change the world and is stoked to help Planet Ark spread the message of positive environmental change.

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