Supermarkets 'should be banned' from wrapping these 21 fruit and veg items in plastic
Supermarkets should be banned from selling products such as apples and bananas in plastic packaging, a global NGO said this week.
WRAP has reiterated its call for 21 common fruit and vegetables to be banned from being packaged in plastic this Food Waste Action Week.
The NGO called for a ban on the sale of apples, aubergines, avocados, bananas, broccoli, cabbages, carrots, garlic, ginger, lemons, limes, mangos, onions, oranges, parsnips, pears, peppers, potatoes, squash, swede and salad tomatoes in plastic wrap or trays.
WRAP said selling these 21 items loose could potentially save 100,000 tonnes of edible fruit and vegetables from being wasted every year in Britain, as well as saving 13,000 tonnes of plastic film.
Plastic wrapping and trays (which contain multiple vegetables, rather than one) means that people over-buy food, which then goes to waste.
Every year in the UK, 510,000 tonnes of potatoes are binned, representing 46% of all potatoes bought in the UK, the NGO said.
A spokesperson for WRAP told Yahoo News that the 21 items were adopted as a 'phase one' with an eventual goal of a wider ban.
The spokesperson said: "These items were considered to be more feasible, were already being sold loose by at least one retailers in the UK and were either robust enough and/or had their own natural "packaging" (skin/rind etc).
"Many businesses have been trialling these 21 items loose already and as such the transition to loose only would be smoother than focusing on alternatives."
Four out of five (78%) British adults would buy fresh fruit and vegetables loose if they were offered, a survey by Love Food Hate Waste found this week.
The survey found that 77% of people would prefer fruit to be delivered in a paper bag, rather than plastic wrap and plastic trays. A further 75% would prefer fruit and vegetables to be offered in cardboard trays or boxes.
Jackie Bailey, senior campaign manager for Love Food Hate Waste, said: 'In the UK, 60% of all food waste comes from people's homes, with fresh fruit and veg making up the largest proportion.
'Buying loose fruit and veg has the potential to significantly cut the amount of food ending up in the bin and we have the evidence that it is what consumers want – now is the time for retailers and shoppers to make that a reality.
"Increasing loose fruit and veg offerings in store will not only reduce plastic waste, it will also enable shoppers to buy closer to their needs, slashing food waste and preventing tens of thousands of tonnes of CO2 emissions.'
Supermarkets use plastic wrap and trays on fruits like apples and tomatoes because it helps preserve them.
Wrap and trays help to stop fruit from either being bruised or decomposing, which means less waste.
Less waste means supermarkets make more money.
The WRAP spokesperson said: "WRAP would like to see more fresh uncut produce sold loose in stores, to give people more chance to buy the quantities to suit their needs.
"But this is not going to happen overnight. Changing the way supermarkets operate will require time to introduce new systems, and investment for things like scales."
When plastic is thrown away, it breaks down into tiny particles called 'microplastics'.
These are swallowed by wildlife, ranging from microscopic organisms up to blue whales, and can enter the food chain.
Microplastics have been found inside human brains and in other organs in the body, and their long term effects are still not fully understood.
A 2022 study found that tiny particles of microplastic are already polluting every lake and river in Britain, posing as-yet-unknown risks to wildlife, scientists have warned.
Even remote bodies of water such as Loch Lomond are polluted with plastic particles.
Researchers from Bangor University and Friends of the Earth collected water samples from rivers, reservoirs and lochs in England, Scotland and Wales.
Every sample contained plastic, with the River Tame in Greater Manchester having more than 1,000 particles per litre - and Loch Lomond having 2.4 particles per litre.
Ullswater in the Lake District had 29.5 shards of microplastic per litre.
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