Eliminate single-use plastic packaging by 2040, the government’s goal

France has just adopted an objective of “Exit from single-use plastic packaging” by 2040 but on an incentive basis, without providing at this stage for sanctions for manufacturers who continue to use them.

A decree known as “3R” (to reduce, reuse, recycle) was published on April 30 by the Ministry of Ecological Transition. It initially sets the objective of reducing single-use plastic packaging by 20% by the end of 2025, of which at least half will be obtained through reuse and reuse. It concerns all products and all types of plastic packaging, whether household, industrial or commercial, including those qualified as biodegradable or bio-based.

The second stated objective is to strive for a 100% reduction in single-use plastic packaging deemed to be “Unnecessary” like plastic blisters around batteries or bulbs, by 2025. Finally, the third wants “Strive for 100% recycling of single-use plastic packaging by the 1er January 2025 », which involves the obligation to put recyclable materials on the market.

The citizens’ convention for the climate pleaded for the release of single-use plastic packaging. This decree, attached to the anti-waste law for a circular economy (AGEC) voted in February 2020, “Falls within the limits of European law and law”, Does one support the ministry to explain the absence of planned sanctions. “To be in accordance with the free movement of goods, there is no prohibition or sanction and these are collective objectives. But financial incentives ” may intervene, we add.

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“Low” recycling rate

Plastic packaging (tubes of toothpaste, cans of washing powder, etc.) represent in France some 2.2 million tonnes put on the market each year, according to the ministry, which admits that their reuse is poorly developed and that their recycling rate , by 27%, is ” low “.

In the absence of precise data on the volumes of plastic used each year by industry and commerce, the ministry is counting on a “Re-employment observatory” that the Environment and Energy Management Agency (Ademe) will set up to record the progress made. The objective is to carry out a first quantitative progress report on December 31, 2023, specifies a source at the ministry.

Regarding yoghurt pots, widely used in France but in reality hardly ever recycled or reused even if they are collected in sorting bins, several manufacturers have recently shown closed-loop reuse projects (reuse of yogurt for yogurt), underlines the ministry.

“These projects could give rise to an operational sector in 2025”, we added from the same source, recognizing that by then, these pots will continue to pose “An environmental question”.

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The World with AFP