The French government's environment minister, Ségolène Royal, has put forward a proposal to ban plastic shopping bags at supermarkets checkouts in the country.
The National Assembly’s Commission for Sustainable Development voted in favour of the ban this week following a debate on a biodiversity bill.
The ban was proposed in an amendment of the bill by Ségolène Royal, Minister for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, who took up the ministry three months ago.
Royal said it was a very important step, which had been anticipated for “a very long time” by environmental associations.
“We don’t realise the extent to which non-biodegradable plastic bags lead to pollution and excessive waste, which can considerable harm, notably to fish,” she said.
The ban will include all single-use plastic bags and bags for fresh produce counters.
The bill proposes trolleys or shopping baskets as a replacement for the bags.
It is also the first time that plastic bags for fruit and vegetables are being targeted.
There has been a reduction in the use of plastic bags at French supermarket counters following a voluntary agreement – falling from 10.5 billion to 700 million between 2002 and 2011.
“It’s advisable to continue with this reduction because almost five billion single use plastic shopping bags and more than 12 million bags for fruit and vegetables are still being distributed in shops,” was the government’s response on the amendment.
“It’s advisable to continue with this reduction because almost five billion single-use plastic shopping bags and more than 12 million bags for fruit and vegetables are still being distributed in shops.”
© 2014 - European Supermarket Magazine
