Spain to ban sale of fruit and vegetables in plastic packaging from 2023

The new regulations also include measures to encourage the purchase of bulk, unpackaged products and the use of non-water bottles. The ban on fruit and vegetable packaging will apply to products weighing less than 1.5kg. France has already introduced similar legislation, which will come into force next year.

The Spanish administration wants the most effective way to combat the excessive use of packaging and says plastic pollution has exceeded its limits. Environmental groups in Spain and abroad, including Greenpeace, have campaiged for years to stop the practice of gropers and large supermarkets wrapping fresh produce in layers of plastic.

The list of products to be included in the new regulation will be drawn up by the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition. according to the information available, those products that are likely to deteriorate when sold in bulk will be excluded from the list. According to information shared with green groups, the decree also considers forcing government authorities at all levels to encourage the installation of drinking fountains in public places, introduce alternatives to bottled beverage sales, and reduce the distribution of disposable drinking water cups at public events from 2023.

The government is developing measures to encourage retailers to sell fresh produce without packaging. Customers can bring their own reusable containers, but sanitary conditions must be prescribed by the institution. According to the same source, one of the main goals of the draft decree is to halve the sales of beverage plastic bottles by 2030 and make 100 percent of the packaging on the market recyclable.

Source: cnBeta.COM.