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Spain to ban plastic packaging for food and vegetables from 2023

A ban on the sale of fruit and vegetables in plastic wrapping in supermarkets will come into effect in 2023, as part of a decree drafted by Spain's Ministry for Ecological Transition.

Spain to ban plastic packaging for food and vegetables from 2023
A ban on the sale of fruit and vegetables in plastic wrapping in supermarkets will come into effect in 2023. Photo by CESAR MANSO / AFP

It also includes measures to encourage shoppers to buy loose fruit and vegetables and curb the sale of plastic bottles.

The ban on plastic wrapping for fruit and vegetables will apply to produce weighing under 1.5 kilograms. Meanwhile those “at risk of deteriorating when sold loose” will not be affected, according to Spanish newspaper El País.

The decree aims to incorporate European Union rules into Spain’s legislation, and follows similar legislation in France that will go into effect next year.

READ ALSO: This couple turned a desire for a zero-waste household into a thriving Madrid business

The goal is to “fight the overuse of packaging in the most effective way,” a ministry spokesperson told El País, adding that plastic pollution has “exceeded all limits.”

It will also aim to make 100% of packaging recyclable by 2030, as well as cut the sale of plastic bottles by half.

Rules forcing authorities to “encourage the installation of drinking fountains in public spaces”, “introduce alternatives to the sale of bottled drinks” and reduce “the distribution of single-use drinking cups” at public events, are also being contemplated.

Representatives of green groups welcomed the ban but added that the Spanish government is not moving fast enough to put a stop to plastic pollution.

“We drink plastic, we eat plastic and we breathe plastic,” Julio Barea of Greenpeace, told El País.

According to the Ministry of Ecological Transition, Spain generations 1.6 million tonnes of waste from plastic packaging every year, and recycles less than half. Two thirds of what goes to landfill is not recycled.

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Danish stores to remove MobilePay from payment options

Over 500 shops in Denmark will no longer offer the popular app MobilePay as a payment option after the platform ordered merchants to purchase new hardware.

Danish stores to remove MobilePay from payment options

The Dagrofa corporation, which owns chains including the Meny and Spar supermarkets, has announced it will remove MobilePay as a payment option in its stores, business media Finans reports.

The decision could impact less than 1 percent of payments in the store which are currently made using MobilePay, the company said.

READ ALSO: 17 essential phone apps to make your life in Denmark easier

“The primary reason is that MobilePay will from now on demand a technical setup for the payment system in stores and with the investment that will neee, we have concluded that’s not the way we want to go,” Dagrofa’s head of communications Morten Vestberg told Finans.

Dagrofa owns the Let-Køb and Min Købmand convenience store chains in addition to Meny and Spar.

The decision will mean MobilePay is removed from some 530 stores altogether, although individual stores may choose to retain the payment app.

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