Currently, more cucumbers not to land as usual in the garbage, because you can survive without plastic film in the Transport from Spain often heal.

cucumber without plastic wrap is not necessarily sustainable photo: Reuters

BERLIN taz | Even the snow is not what it once was: It is micro-plastic is snowing. This has been shown by researchers of the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven, Germany, on Heligoland, in Bavaria, also in the Arctic. As a Prime example for the consumption in Excess of the film-wrapped cucumber from the supermarket is considered by many: – there is already a shell. So has responded in the last months of a food chain to the other – and the film banned. Only there is now a new Problem: The fruits spoil faster.

Currently, the cucumbers come from Spain. The path from field to supermarket shelf takes longer than in July or August when the cucumbers in Germany this season. And in the German popular vegetables is, by nature, more sensitive than you think. Heat, shock, all of this does not tolerate you, since it consists of 96 percent water. So tons of Spanish cucumbers to land on the trash – and the traders complain of big losses.

"The transcripts have doubled," said Christian Böttcher by the Federal Association of the German food trade. The cucumber schrumpelten, would yellowish, could no longer sell. The trade journal Lebensmittel Zeitung, an industry expert said recently, it would be per Truck load, a loss of 25,000 euros.

Henning Wilts head of the Department of circular economy at the Wuppertal Institute for climate, environment and energy. He says: "to abandon the Only on the plastic, enough, cold chains need to be converted, the transport times are reduced, intermediate storage can be minimized." Some chains were already working. It go.

Edeka, for example, this newspaper said that they had unpackaged Spanish cucumbers "no quality problems", and there is "close cooperation with the producers, as well as efficient processes and routes of transport in logistics".

But elsewhere "customers in a Dilemma," says Sonia Grimminger, expert for packaging within the Federal environment Agency. For traders there are two reasons why they did not want to dispense with packaging The food kept fresh longer, because they are oxygen, light, prevented ripening gases. In addition, they argued that with organic products from conventional to distinguish. So if there has to be a package? Crucial is then: "they must be recyclable."

frozen manufacturer Frosta replaced meanwhile, plastic paper. The company from Bremerhaven wants to, at the latest, to wrap up the end of 2020, its products only in the paper bag. The could throw customers in the Paper bin, is it there, you had to recycle "easy". Only: Of Paper? In the LCA, it cut often worse than plastic, says expert Grimminger: "For the production of more energy and water is used as the plastic."

From an environmental point of view, it most always useful, cucumber – and to buy any other vegetables – only when it's in season, she says at the end. Then the fruits would not have to be transported far.