Removing packaging from uncut fresh produce

WRAP is recommending that the UK government consider restricting packaging on uncut fresh fruit and vegetables sold in retail in the UK. This will enable people to buy closer to their needs, reducing household food waste, single use packaging and saving the associated carbon emissions.

Food and packaging waste are global challenges requiring urgent action. In the UK, 70% of all edible post farm-gate food waste comes from people's homes, with fresh fruit and vegetables accounting for the largest proportion. In addition, the majority of fresh fruit and vegetables are packed using single-use plastic (around 70,000 tonnes of it each year) and while plastic packaging is a resource-efficient material, its ability to escape into the environment is evident on a global level.

WRAP has been working with industry to increase the amount of fresh produce sold loose through "The Pathway to Selling More Uncut Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Loose” which sets out a voluntary approach with the aim that by 2030 50% of uncut fruit and veg sales volumes will be loose. However, WRAP and industry partners from Courtauld 2030 and the UK Plastics Pact have identified several challenges associated with transitioning to a mostly loose system for fresh fruit and veg, and therefore policy interventions have been raised as an important requirement for creating a level playing field.

WRAP partnered with cross-party think tank, Policy Connect, to explore the kinds of formal policy interventions that could enable industry to go further and faster toward achieving this ambition. As a result, WRAP is recommending the government consider implementing a phased approach, starting with banning primary packaging on the 21 products already identified in WRAP’s research with certain exemptions and considerations.