Plastic wrap veg ban ‘could mean more food waste’, says minister – BBC

Report on Proposed Ban of Plastic Packaging for Fresh Produce in Wales

Legislative Proposal and Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

A proposal has been presented to the Welsh Parliament (Senedd) advocating for a ban on plastic packaging for fruit and vegetable sales under 1.5kg. The initiative, proposed by Senedd member Rhys ab Owen, posits that much of this packaging is unnecessary and wasteful. This legislative action directly supports several key UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production): The core objective is to reduce waste generation by eliminating single-use plastics at the point of sale, aligning with Target 12.5. It encourages a return to more sustainable consumption patterns, reflecting historical practices where consumers purchased only the required amount of produce.
• SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 15 (Life on Land): By curbing the use of plastic packaging, the proposal aims to mitigate plastic pollution, a significant contributor to the degradation of marine and terrestrial ecosystems.

Governmental Concerns and Potential Conflicts with SDG Targets

Risk of Increased Food Waste

In response, Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies has warned of potential unintended consequences that could undermine other critical sustainability targets. Citing analysis from the environmental charity Wrap, the primary concern is that the policy could inadvertently increase food waste, a direct contradiction of SDG Target 12.3, which aims to halve per capita food waste by 2030.

1. The removal of packaging, which can extend the shelf-life of produce, may lead to faster spoilage at both retail and consumer levels.
2. The 1.5kg threshold could incentivize consumers to purchase larger, pre-packaged quantities of produce than necessary, leading to greater household food waste.

Wrap has recommended a phased approach, initially targeting 21 types of fruit and vegetables while exempting others like potatoes and bananas, to manage these risks.

Socio-Economic and Consumer Considerations

Further challenges were identified that could impact economic equality and public acceptance.

• SDG 1 (No Poverty): There is a concern that retailers may increase the unit price of loose items to compensate for lower sales volumes. This could disproportionately affect low-income households, for whom food costs represent a significant portion of their budget, thereby creating a conflict with the goal of reducing poverty and inequality.
• Public Health and Perception: The minister noted that consumer perceptions regarding the hygiene of handling loose produce in modern retail environments must be considered as a factor in the policy’s implementation and success.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

• The entire article revolves around this goal. The proposal to ban plastic packaging for fruit and vegetables is a direct attempt to change production and consumption patterns to reduce waste. The debate highlights the complexity of sustainable consumption, weighing the reduction of plastic waste against the potential increase in food waste, as warned by the environmental charity Wrap.

SDG 2: Zero Hunger

• This goal is connected through the issues of food waste and food affordability. The article mentions the concern that banning plastic packaging could lead to increased food waste. Furthermore, it highlights that retailers might increase unit prices for loose produce, which could “disproportionately affect those on lower incomes,” potentially impacting their access to nutritious food like fruits and vegetables.

SDG 14: Life Below Water

• While not explicitly mentioned, the motivation behind reducing plastic waste, as proposed by Senedd member Rhys ab Owen, is intrinsically linked to preventing plastic pollution. Plastic waste is a primary contributor to marine debris, which SDG 14 aims to combat. The proposal to cut “entirely wasteful” plastic packaging is a measure to prevent land-based pollution from entering aquatic ecosystems.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Target 12.3: Halve per capita global food waste

• This target is central to the counterargument presented in the article. Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies warns that a ban on plastic might “mean more food waste.” He cites the charity Wrap, which questioned if the policy could inadvertently “encourage consumers to purchase larger packs, potentially having the opposite effect of increasing food waste.” This directly addresses the goal of reducing food waste at the consumer level.

Target 12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation

• This target is the primary driver of the proposed policy. The call to make shops offer fruit and veg loose is an initiative aimed at waste prevention and reduction. Rhys ab Owen’s statement that “plastic packaging, very often, is entirely wasteful, is unnecessary, and is purposeless” directly aligns with the goal of substantially reducing the generation of waste, in this case, plastic waste.

Target 14.1: Prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution

• The proposal to eliminate plastic packaging for fresh produce is a direct action to reduce a key source of land-based pollution. Although the article focuses on the legislative debate rather than the environmental impact, the underlying principle of the proposed ban is to stop plastic waste at its source, which supports the objective of preventing it from becoming marine debris.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

Implied Indicator: Amount of food waste

• The article repeatedly discusses the potential for the policy to increase “food waste.” This implies that a key metric for evaluating the policy’s success or failure would be the measurement of food waste at the household and retail levels. This directly relates to measuring progress towards Target 12.3.

Implied Indicator: Amount of plastic packaging waste

• The core proposal is to “cut plastic waste” by banning it for fruit and vegetable sales under 1.5kg. The success of such a policy would be measured by the reduction in the volume or weight of plastic packaging waste generated by retailers and consumers, which is a clear indicator for Target 12.5.

Implied Indicator: Cost of a healthy diet / food prices

• The article raises concerns that retailers could “increase unit prices to compensate for lower sales of fruit and veg sold loose.” It also notes this could “disproportionately affect those on lower incomes whose grocery bills tend to make up a larger proportion of their limited income.” This implies that tracking the unit price of fresh produce and the overall cost of groceries for low-income households would be crucial indicators to assess the socio-economic impact of the policy, relevant to SDG 2.

4. SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Analysis

Source: bbc.com