Plans to ban plastic packaging for fruit and vegetables across the EU are being hailed as 'an important step forward'.

The European Council and Parliament reached a provisional agreement on Monday on plans for a new regulation on packaging and packaging waste.

It would establish requirements "to ensure that packaging is safe and sustainable, by requiring that all packaging is recyclable and that the presence of substances of concern is minimised".

The new rules would see restrictions on single-use plastic packaging for fruit, vegetables, food, drink and condiments by 2030.

The changes would also apply to toiletry products like shampoo bottles in hotels.

Takeaway food containers. Image: Anthony Behar/SIPA USA/PA Images

The aim is to tackle the increase in packaging waste while boosting the circular economy.

VOICE Ireland spokesperson Abi O'Callaghan Platt told Newstalk Breakfast it is a wide-ranging change.

"This provisional agreement is really positive and an important step forward to reduce packaging waste," she said.

"That will include plastic wrapping on fruit and veg but it will also include things like … the single-use ketchup sachets that you get.

"Also [there will be] bans on takeaway containers for food and drinks consumed in cafés and restaurants.

"So that'll all be banned coming up in 2030."

Sachets of tomato sauce, 12-9-17. Image: Radharc Images / Alamy

Ms O’Callaghan Platt said takeaways can use compostable packaging and go back to 'older ways' for things like ketchup.

"The sachets themselves are expensive for the takeaways, so there's a number of them that are just providing the original squeezy ketchup bottle," she said.

"We've been [using] these things for many years and so it's just going back to the older ways with this."

Ms Platt said the text has been changed from its original form.

"In the original text, the bans included more than just plastic packaging but also paper-based packaging," she said.

"Whereas the text that was out this Monday is just restricted to plastic, so I suppose that would be one of our reservations with this agreement.

"We'd prefer to see it instead of substituting one disposable single-use packaging type for another, that we'd move more towards re-use systems," she added.

The provisional agreement will be submitted to member states’ representatives within the European Council and the Parliament’s environment committee for endorsement.

If it is adopted the change would be applied from 18 months after its start date.

Main image: Fresh fruit in plastic containers, 11-4-17. Image: Islandstock / Alamy