A law banning plastic packaging for large numbers of fruits and vegetables has come into force in France as of New Year’s Day, to end what the government has called the “aberration” of overwrapped carrots, apples and bananas, as environmental campaigners and exasperated shoppers urged other countries to do the same.
Emmanuel Macron has called the ban on plastic packaging of fresh produce “a real revolution” and said France was taking the lead globally with its law to gradually phase out all single-use plastics by 2040.
Spain will introduce a ban on plastic packaging of fruit and vegetables from 2023. For years, international campaigners have said unnecessary plastic packaging is causing environmental damage and pollution at sea.
Photo: AP 照片:美聯社
From New Year’s Day, France bans supermarkets and other shops from selling cucumbers wrapped in plastic, and peppers, courgettes, aubergines and leeks in plastic packaging. A total of 30 types of fruit and vegetables are banned from having any plastic wrapping, including bananas, pears, lemons, oranges and kiwis.
Packs over 1.5kg are exempt, as well as chopped or processed fruit. Some varieties, including cherry tomatoes or soft fruits such as raspberries and blueberries, are given longer for producers to find alternatives to plastic, but plastic packaging will be gradually phased out for all whole fruits and vegetables by 2026.
With an estimated 37 percent of fruit and vegetables sold wrapped in plastic packaging in France in 2021, the government believes the ban will cut more than 1bn items of single-use plastic packaging a year. The environment ministry said there must be curbs on the “outrageous amount of single-use plastic in our daily lives.”
Photo: AP 照片:美聯社
Fruit and vegetables wrapped in layers of plastic have exasperated consumers not only in France but neighboring countries. Nearly three-quarters of British people have experienced “anxiety, frustration or hopelessness” at the amount of plastic that comes with their shopping and 59 percent think supermarkets and brands are not doing enough to offer refillable, reusable or packaging-free products, according to a poll commissioned by Friends of the Earth and City to Sea in June last year.
(The Guardian)
法國一項於元旦生效的法律,禁止多種水果及蔬菜以塑膠包裝,讓政府所說的胡蘿蔔、蘋果與香蕉過度包裝的「脫軌現象」畫下句點。環保人士與惱怒的顧客也敦促其他國家採取同樣的措施。
法國總統艾曼紐‧馬克宏將生鮮蔬果的塑膠包裝禁令稱為「一場真正的革命」,他說法國領先全球制定了法律,要在二○四○年前逐步淘汰所有的一次性塑膠。
西班牙將從二○二三年起,禁止使用塑膠包裝水果及蔬菜。國際倡議人士多年來不斷表示,不必要的塑膠包裝正造成環境破壞及海洋污染。
法國自元旦起禁止超市等商店銷售以塑膠包裹的黃瓜,以及用塑膠包裝的甜椒、櫛瓜、茄子與韭蔥。禁止使用任何塑膠包裝的共有三十種水果及蔬菜,包括香蕉、梨子、檸檬、柳橙與奇異果。
一點五公斤裝以上的蔬果,以及切成小塊或加工過的水果,則不受此限塑令規範。一些品種,包括櫻桃番茄,或是軟水果例如覆盆子及藍莓,其生產商可有較多的時間尋找塑膠替代品,但到了二○二六年,所有水果及蔬菜的塑膠包裝都將逐步淘汰。
二○二一年在法國販售的水果及蔬菜,有百分之三十七是以塑膠包裝;法國政府據此估計,此禁塑令每年將減少十億件以上的一次性塑膠包裝。法國環境部表示,「我們日常生活中對一次性塑膠毫無節制的使用」必須加以約束。
將水果及蔬菜以塑膠層層包裹,惹惱的不只是法國人,還有鄰近國家的消費者。去年六月由環保組織「地球之友」與「城市至海」所委託進行的一項民意調查發現,近四分之三的英國人對購物時用到的塑膠數量感到「焦慮、無力或絕望」,百分之五十九的人認為超市及品牌在提供可填充、可重複使用或無包裝產品方面做得不夠。
(台北時報林俐凱編譯)
A: Hard rock band Guns N’ Roses is touring Taiwan tomorrow. What about pop diva Lady Gaga? B: Unfortunately, Singapore has once again exclusively secured Gaga’s concerts in Asia, just like Taylor Swift’s exclusive Asian shows last year. A: The Singaporean government reportedly paid up to US$2.2 million to secure Swift’s shows. B: And the shows did boost its economy and tourism. A: But I’m angry about this approach, so I’m not going to Gaga’s shows this time. A: 硬式搖滾天團槍與玫瑰明天即將來台,流行天后女神卡卡呢? B: 真可惜,新加坡再度取得卡卡亞洲巡演的獨家主辦權,就像去年泰勒絲的亞洲獨家演出一樣。 A: 據報導新加坡政府付出高達220萬美元,取得泰勒絲的亞洲獨家主辦權。 B: 而她的秀也的確提振了該國的經濟和旅遊業。 A: 但我對此還是很不爽,所以不去新加坡看卡卡了! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張迪)
A: Hard rock band Guns N’ Roses and pop diva Lady Gaga are finally touring Asia again. B: Are they also coming to Taiwan? A: The band will stage a show at the Taoyuan Sunlight Arena on Saturday. B: Wow, so this will be the band’s third visit. I really love its 1992 power ballad “November Rain.” The nine-minute hit was the Billboard chart’s longest song at one point. A: Let’s go celebrate the 40th anniversary of its release. A: 硬式搖滾天團槍與玫瑰、女神卡卡終於再度展開亞洲巡演了。 B: 他們也會來台巡演嗎? A: 槍與玫瑰本週六即將在桃園陽光劇場開唱唷。 B: 哇這將是該團第三次來台演出,我超愛他們1992年強力情歌《November Rain》,全長近9分鐘還曾是告示牌排行榜最長神曲。 A: 那我們一起去慶祝該團出道40週年吧! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張迪)
Bilingual Story is a fictionalized account. 雙語故事部分內容純屬虛構。 Emma had reviewed 41 resumes that morning. While the ATS screened out 288 unqualified, she screened for AI slop. She could spot it a mile away. She muttered AI buzzwords like curses under her breath. “Team player.” “Results-driven.” “Stakeholder alignment.” “Leveraging core competencies.” Each resume reeked of AI modeling: a cemetery of cliches, tombstones of personality. AI wasn’t just changing hiring. It was draining the humanity from it. Then she found it: a plain PDF cover letter. No template. No design flourishes. The first line read: “I once tried to automate my
Every May 1, Hawaii comes alive with Lei Day, a festival celebrating the rich culture and spirit of the islands. Initiated in 1927 by the poet Don Blanding, Lei Day began as a tribute to the Hawaiian custom of making and wearing leis. The idea was quickly adopted and officially recognized as a holiday in 1929, and leis have since become a symbol of local pride and cultural preservation. In Hawaiian culture, leis are more than decorative garlands made from flowers, shells or feathers. For Hawaiians, giving a lei is as natural as saying “aloha.” It shows love and