French Ban on Plastic Packaging for Fruit and Vegetables Begins

Megan Geall

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President Emmanuel Macron introduced a new law banning plastic packaging on most fruit and vegetables that came into effect in France on New Years Day.

With 37% of fruit and vegetables sold in France in 2021 wrapped in plastic, Macron has taken the decision to ban single-use plastic packaging in order to hit environmental targets.

Cucumbers, lemons and oranges are among 30 varieties of fruit and vegetables banned from being wrapped in plastic with only larger packs (over 1.5kg), as well as chopped or processed fruit, being exempt from the law. Other exemptions include soft fruits such as raspberries and blueberries, which will be given longer for producers to find alternative packaging methods. This is all part of Macron’s plan to gradually phase out the plastic packaging of all fruits and vegetables by 2026.

Why Has This Decision Been Made?

“a real revolution” 

This decision was made in order to show the country’s commitment to phasing out single-use plastics by 2040 with Macron calling the ban “a real revolution”. With the announcement of the new law, the Environment Ministry labelled the use of single-use plastic in France as an “outrageous amount” and claimed that this new ban “aims at cutting back the use of throwaway plastic and boost its substitution by other materials or reusable and recyclable packaging”.

The use of single-use plastic packaging around fruit and vegetables has been a major topic of discussion within environmental and climate groups both in France and neighbouring countries like the UK, over the last few years. In most supermarkets, you can find an absurd amount of plastic around fresh produce, so this ban is a refreshing move that demonstrates Macron’s understanding of the seriousness of the climate issue.

An Ifop poll for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) France in 2019 found that 85% of people were in favour of banning single-use plastic products and packaging. This comes with the rise in climate change consciousness among the world population in the last few years with more than 2 million signing a WWF petition calling on world governments to stop the plastic pollution crisis.

Concerns Around the Ban

While Moïra Tourneur, an advocacy manager at the NGO Zero Waste France, said the law was a “good and appropriate” move, there are concerns over the list of exempt products given a longer transition time of another year before going plastic free. These include brussels sprouts, spring onions, green beans, broccoli, mushrooms, peaches and apricots. There are concerns that while the ban is a positive step in the right direction, the exemptions and transition times do not recognise that we are in a climate emergency and that action must be taken immediately in order to protect the planet.

The ban comes right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, with public concerns of people picking up, smelling the fresh produce and possibly not buying and putting the produce back.

The final concern is the pressure the ban has placed on the fruit and vegetable sector to find quick solutions to the packaging issue. The need for quick solutions does not allow sufficient time for alternatives to be tested and introduced in a timely manner. The head of the Interfel association, Laurent Grandin, suggested that the costs were “insurmountable” for small companies who would have to keep using plastic to protect exports. However, the ban is welcome news for the cardboard manufacturing industry who could take the opportunity to replace all of the plastic packaging that must be removed.

Pressure on the UK

Following on from the recent COP26 conference in Glasgow, several other European countries have announced similar bans, placing more pressure on the UK Government to make a solid commitment to tackling the climate emergency.

At the beginning of December, Spain announced that it will introduce a ban on the sale of fruit and vegetables wrapped in single-use plastics from 2023 in order to allow businesses time to find appropriate, alternative solutions.

As many European countries make decisions and pledges surrounding new environmental regulations, we can only hope that the UK Government soon follows by example and makes a commitment to tackling the overwhelming amount of plastic pollution produced each year.

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Featured image courtesy of Fikri Rasyid on Unsplash. No changes or alterations were made to this image. Image license can be found here.