Fresh fruit and vegetable producers warn proposed plastic reductions could spike grocery prices
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A proposed federal plan to curb plastic packaging is on a timeline fruit and vegetable producers are calling 'problematic' and 'unrealistic.'
A proposed federal plan to curb plastic packaging is on a timeline fruit and vegetable producers are calling “problematic” and “unrealistic.”
In August, consultations for the pollution prevention planning notice for primary food plastic packaging were launched as the federal government searches for ways to reduce the more than 4.4 million tonnes of plastic waste thrown away every year.
“We hear it from Canadian from coast to coast to coast, that they hate seeing so much plastic wrapping,” said Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault.
The produce sector is concerned about the timelines of some of the proposed targets.
“Fresh fruits and vegetables are distributed and sold in bulk and/or plastic-free packaging,” the Environment and Climate Change Canada website reads. “75 per cent by 2026 and 95 per cent by 2028.”
“It’s probably not realistic,” said Tilly Stewart, director of citrus at Star Produce in Calgary. “The way it’s currently written will change the entire global food system.”
Stewart’s company packages fresh cut fruit, in plastic packages, for sale at grocery stores.
