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A first step was taken on January 1, 2020, the date from which it became forbidden to make certain products available in single-use plastic in France. The bans were initially planned in:
- Law No. 2015-992 of August 17, 2015, on energy transition for green growth
- Law No. 2018-938 of October 30, 2018, on EGALIM
It was only on December 24, 2019, that the implementation conditions were specified with Decree No. 2019-1451 concerning the ban on certain products made of single-use plastic.
Here is the list of products banned from being made available as of January 1, 2020:
Disposable cups, glasses, and kitchen plates for table use, straws, cutlery, steak picks, disposable glass lids, meal trays, ice cream pots, salad bowls, plastic boxes and stirrers for beverages, except those compostable in home composting and made, in whole or in part, from bio-based materials or considered as packaging.
The case of single-use plastic packaging
Among this list of products, those considered as « packaging » will also be banned as of July 3, 2021. France is aligning with European Directive No. 2019/904 of June 5, 2019, on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment. Member states therefore have a longer period to transpose these provisions.
The definition of packaging
« Any product made of any material intended to contain and protect goods from raw materials to finished products, to enable their handling and delivery from producer to consumer or user, and to ensure their presentation. All disposable items used for the same purposes must be considered as packaging » cf. European Directive No. 94/62/EC of December 20, 1994, on packaging and waste packaging.
Thus, for the Ministry of Ecological Transition (MTES), a cup is considered packaging if it is filled or designed to be filled at the point of sale or free distribution. Consequently, hot or cold beverage cups provided in vending machines will be subject to the single-use plastic ban as of July 3, 2021.
Finally, the exemption granted to products compostable in home composting and made, wholly or in part, from bio-based materials will no longer be applicable as of July 3, 2021.
End of single-use plastic by 2040 and other objectives
With the entry into force on February 12, 2020, of Law No. 2020-105(*) known as the Anti-Waste Law for a circular economy, even more ambitious objectives are set for the fight against plastic pollution in the environment.
The law mandates the end of placing single-use plastic packaging on the market by 2040, with the goal of achieving 100% recycled plastic by January 1, 2025. « As a reminder, single-use plastic packaging is packaging made entirely or partially from plastic and which is not designed, created, or placed on the market to perform, during its lifespan, multiple trips or rotations by being returned to a producer to be refilled or reused for the same purpose for which it was designed ».
By 2040, objectives for the reduction, reuse, re-employment, and recycling of these single-use plastics will be set by decree for the period 2021-2025, and then every five years. To achieve these objectives, a national strategy will be developed before January 1, 2022, outlining the necessary global or sectoral measures. This strategy will be developed in consultation with industrial sectors, local authorities, and relevant associations.
Other objectives are set, such as the re-employment of 5% of packaging by 2023 and 10% by 2027. In 2021, an observatory for reuse and re-employment will be responsible for evaluating the relevance of reuse and re-employment solutions, and for defining the national trajectory for increasing the share of reused and re-employed packaging.
The law thus reaffirms the ban on making available a long list of single-use plastic products: cups, glasses, disposable plates, straws, cutlery, confetti, polystyrene containers, etc., within a timeline set between 2020 and 2023.
To keep you informed, you can consult the FAQ (2017) on the limitation of plastic kitchen cups/glasses and disposable plates from the Ministry of Ecological Transition (MTES).
The MTES is working on updating it to facilitate your understanding of the products targeted by these new prohibitions.
(*) The Anti-Waste Law for a Circular Economy introduces many new provisions into the environmental code regarding:
- national waste prevention and management policy
- improving consumer information
- combating waste
- combating plastic pollution in the environment
- producer responsibility for waste-generating products
- combating illegal waste dumping
Comprising 130 requirements, the Anti-Waste Law for a circular economy notably incorporates measures from the Circular Economy Roadmap (FREC) presented in May 2018, which proposed 50 measures for a 100% circular economy. Its implementation will require the signing of over 40 decrees. The government also plans to issue ordinances by August 2020 to transpose European directives, including Directive 2019/904 of June 5, 2019, on reducing the impact of certain plastic products.