France’s plastic ban uncovered: NGO argues fruit and veg exemptions dilute law’s ambition

07 Jan 2022 --- Zero Waste France has expressed concern about the exemptions in France’s recently imposed plastic packaging ban, which is restricted to just 30 different fruits and vegetables. The environmental NGO regrets the large number of delays and exemptions around the ban as it “greatly lessens the ambition of the law.”

“This [plastic] reduction can be concretely obtained provided the ambition of the ban is not lessened through too many exemptions. This is both an environmental necessity and a societal demand,” Moïra Tourneur, advocacy manager at Zero Waste France, tells PackagingInsights.

However, the Plastic Pollution Coalition in the US welcomes the regulation as a sensible step toward curbing plastic pollution.

Paradigm shift needed
Meanwhile, shifting toward local, regenerative food systems centered on fresh, loose produce will benefit human health as well as the climate, argues Dianna Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Plastic Pollution Coalition.

“We applaud this action by the French government and hope that other countries will soon follow,” she tells PackagingInsights. 

The life cycle impacts of plastic threatens human health on a global scale, Cohen flags. “Plastic is pollution at every stage of its existence, from extraction and use to disposal. Plastic poses significant risks to human health and contributes to climate change.”

“Phasing out plastic packaging for fruits and vegetables makes a lot of sense, especially since in many cases nature has already provided the best protection, like natural peels,” says Cohen.According to Zero Waste France, there is a concerning list of exemptions to the plastic ban.

“We have all seen examples of ridiculous packaging, like peeled bananas or orange segments wrapped in plastic.”

The Center for International Environmental Law reports that research into the human health impacts of plastic is narrowly focused on specific moments in the plastic life cycle – wellhead to refinery, store shelves to human bodies and from disposal to ongoing impacts such as air pollutants and ocean plastic. 

Love to hate plastic packaging
France has banned supermarkets and other shops from selling 30 fruit and vegetable varieties wrapped in plastic packaging from this month. 

The ban includes fruits and vegetables weighing less than 1.5 kg according to a law passed by the ministry of Economy, Ecological Transition, Agriculture and Food.

Spain will follow suit in 2023 under a new draft of environmental legislation which is being finalized by the government. 

In a similar vein, the UK plans to expand its single-use plastic ban following the passing of the country’s long-awaited Environment Act. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs launched a 12-week ongoing consultation to expand the UK Plastic Pact, set to be enforced this year. 

Exemptions mar plastic ban
The law originally set out to eradicate plastic packaging of fruits and vegetables but at this stage there are many varieties and packaged formats that have been exempted from the ban.

For example, while most varieties of tomatoes are already plastic-free in most supermarkets, packaged counterparts will be sold alongside these until mid-2023.

“In that respect, it is quite baffling that some double standards endure,” Tourneur elaborates. 

Cohen also laments: “Plastic packaging for produce can actually increase food waste because people are often forced to buy more than they need.” 

“Produce should be washed before consumption regardless of whether it is packaged or not. Plastic does not inherently make something clean and safe,” she urges.Plastic Pollution Coalition argues the life cycle impacts of plastic threatens human health on a global scale.

Deep-rooted fixation with plastic
However, Innova Market Insights found consumers mostly support the increased use of plastic for hygiene during the pandemic, including typically unrecyclable films on fruit and vegetables. 

Meanwhile, 20% of global consumers favor more plastics and 42% see them as an undesirable necessity at this time.

The Plastic Pollution Coalition reports that a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health, CDC, UCLA and Princeton University scientists in The New England Journal of Medicine shows that COVID-19 could be stable on plastic surfaces for up to three days.

However, the US Food and Drug Administration has said there is no evidence of transmission of the COVID-19 virus, a respiratory virus, through food or food packaging.

Nonetheless, food wrapped in single-use plastic increases exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals that are toxic to humans, particularly young people, Cohen stresses. 

Setting plastic parameters
Zero Waste France and the Plastic Pollution Coalition recognizes France as a pioneer in enforcing an anti-pollution measure of this nature and encourages more countries to do the same. 

While Zero Waste France acknowledges plastic packaging as a reliable parameter in curbing food waste, its official stance is that reducing packaging is the more pressing issue.

“It makes sense that the ban does not immediately enter into force for most delicate fruits and vegetables such as red fruits, for which more time is needed to find appropriate alternatives to plastic packaging, however, the list of exemptions is surprisingly long,” explains Tourneur. 

Initially, the organization welcomed the ban, which was voted into law in 2019, because it would allow a concrete plastic packaging reduction and offer a visible measure for consumers but now believes there are many aspects to the ban that need tweaking.

“Plastic puts pressure on both climate and biodiversity from production to end-of-life. That’s why it’s more than urgent to reduce its use where possible,” concludes Tourneur.

By Inga de Jong