2023-09-04 09:30:31
At the end of June, the government announced the return of the glass deposit at the French level within two years. While important discussions are taking place at European level, Roland Lescure, Minister Delegate in charge of Industry, claims to defend an ambitious position of France.
No one believed in it anymore, but the glass deposit will make a comeback in France. On June 22, the Secretary of State for Ecology, Bérangère Couillard, indeed confirmed the establishment of a deposit on glass packaging for food products (bottles, yoghurt pots and jars) “within two years”.
This choice responds to the objectives of the anti-waste law for a circular economy, known as the “Agec law”. In particular, it plans to reuse 5% of the packaging put on the market in 2023, 10% in 2027. It also aims for a 50% reduction in the plastic bottles put on the market in 2030 compared to 2020.
Several distributors have launched initial experiments on the deposit, like Carrefour and Biocoop. Bérangère Couillard announced the launch of other voluntary experiments in 2024. Then, distributors will have to « obligation » to take back the returnable packaging, she warns, referring to the opening of “discussions on the legal framework” before the end of the year.
Important choices at European level
While things are finally changing at the French level, the proposal for a regulation on packaging and packaging waste (PPWR) must move the issue forward at European level. It might set targets for reusable packaging: 20% in 2030 and 80% in 2040 for takeaway drinks, 10 and 40% for takeaway meals. The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) will vote for the adoption of the draft report on 20 September. The indicative vote in plenary in the European Parliament is scheduled for 2 October 2023. Negotiations with the Council, then in trialogue, should be concluded before the European Parliament elections in June 2024.
On the occasion of a round table devoted to reuse during the summer universities of the economy of tomorrow in Paris on August 30, Charles Christory, co-founder of Le Fourgon, warned: “There are very dangerous lobbyists at European level who are trying to get recycling considered on the same level as reuse”. This start-up specializing in the delivery of beverages with deposit at home has succeeded in its bet: it delivers to 37,000 customers in several cities in France.
If Roland Lescure, minister delegate in charge of industry, does not want to oppose recycling and reuse, he assures that he understands the fears. “France’s objective is to ensure that it [le règlement européen, ndlr] be at least as ambitious as the Agec law” with deadlines that go beyond: 2030 and 2040.
Continue to structure the French reuse sector
The National Industry Council created 19 sector strategy committees. These bring together the State, companies and employee representatives, industry by industry. THE sector contract 2019-2022 of the “Waste transformation and recovery” committee, led by the general manager of Veolia, Estelle Brachlianoff, is interested in sorting, collection and recycling, but not at all in reuse. “I undertake to ask them, within the framework of the sector plan which is being re-discussed, to integrate a reuse issue into it”, announced Roland Lescure during the round table. He also promises that he will ensure the presence of representatives of the reuse sector in the committee.
To develop, the sector also needs to invest. The potential aid for reuse project leaders is particularly diverse with France 2030, Ademe and BPI. For its part, the eco-organisation Citéo allocates an annual budget of 50 million euros to the development of reuse solutions. “The problem is that the financing of all these devices is very difficult to read, especially for an industrial startup”recognizes Roland Lescure who suggests that project leaders contact his ministry to be directed to existing systems.
But should we not completely redirect aid and calls for tenders? The Environmental Code gives priority to the prevention and reduction of waste. Priority is then given in order to the treatment methods: reuse, recycling, energy recovery and disposal. To be consistent with this hierarchy, it would therefore be a question of at least rebalancing the amounts allocated to reuse at the same level as recycling. But the recycling industry and the communities that manage the sorting centers are putting the brakes on. To change scale, the reuse sector will therefore have to rely on real public and political support.
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