Spain to ban the sale of fruit and vegetables and drinks in plastic containers from 2023

Spain will ban the sale of fruit and vegetables in plastic containers from 2023 and force the sale of beverages in reusable containers in all retail establishments.

The Spanish government wants to regulate the use of plastics and promote their recycling to the point of prohibiting fruits, vegetables, and drinks from being sold in plastic packaging and containers by 2023.

The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge is reportedly preparing a royal decree to regulate packaging and waste that will state that by 2023 it will be forbidden to sell fruits and vegetables in plastic containers and that beverages are to be offered in reusable containers in all retail establishments.

The larger retailers must offer up to seven different types of packaging and dedicate part of their space to bulk sales so that consumers will be able to store goods in their own bags or containers, bottles included.

The measures, focused on the reuse of packaging and recycling, will impact consumers mainly in these two aspects. In the case of retailers, in addition to the relevant changes in recycling, they will have to set up zones and inventory to meet these demands, while manufacturers will have to work out how to increase the percentage of recycled plastic.

According to the proposed decree, from 2023 there will be less and less of this material (plastic) in supermarkets.

“It is scandalous that they sell a banana surrounded by plastic,” said Carlos Arribas, head of waste at Ecologistas en Acción. The organisation highly values ​​any measure that could solve something so “completely absurd” like this but believes that the choice and limitations set by the government in the case of reusable products falls short of adequate.

“The consumer has the right to be offered a reusable version of the products they consume,” said Arribas.

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