2024-07-04 09:30:26
Non-recyclable polystyrene was to be banned from packaging on January 1, 2025. But this ban has been postponed due to a lack of a sector.
“As of January 1, 2025, packaging made in whole or in part from styrenic polymers or copolymers, which are not recyclable and cannot be integrated into a recycling channel, is prohibited”promised in 2021 the Climate & Resilience lawThese packages include fresh dairy products and trays for meat and fish.
But while the time should be to accelerate recycling projects, The World and France Info published a survey on June 17 confirming the upcoming postponement of this deadline. We are at an impasse. The manufacturers will not be ready in time”defends the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
A postponement announced before the Senate
Dominique Faure had defended this position before the Senate. The Minister Delegate, responsible for Local Authorities and Rural Affairs, justifies this postponement by the fact that “ The French ban has been partly taken up by the European Commission, since the future regulation on packaging provides that all packaging must be recyclable by 2030, and even recycled on an industrial scale by 2035. “, reports Environmental news. As this provision has not yet entered into force, it therefore proposes to align with the European deadline.
Anti-plastic NGOs are stepping up to the plate. Such a postponement of the ban, requested by industrial lobbies, would be unacceptable and in total contradiction with the objectives of reducing and recycling plastic waste.”deplores Charlotte Soulary, head of advocacy at Zero Waste France.
Don’t we know how to recycle polystyrene?
In 2021, the PS25 Consortium bringing together companies from the dairy, meat and poultry sectors and Citeo signed a charter of commitment having the aim of “ Aim for 100% recycling of polystyrene packaging collected and sorted by 2025 “. The project aimed for recycling with return to food contact. The Charter indicates that this objective is “ subject to technical feasibility”. And finally, despite the announcement of pilots and operational factories from 2023, the sector never saw the light of day. The projects then announced in France by the sector, led by Michelin, Ineos and TotalEnergies, have since been abandoned.
The goal of achieving 100% recycling is therefore very far from being achieved. Polystyrene represents more than 350,000 tonnes per year, or 7% of the plastic materials used in France in all sectors combined. On its website[1]the eco-organization Citeo estimates that France sells 100,000 tons of polystyrene packaging each year. The organization says it wants to recycle at least 10,000 tons per year from the sorting actions of the French. Citeo plans to ensure 80% of this recycling by pyrolysis in the future Plastic2Chemicals plant of the Belgian company Indaver, based in Antwerp. 20% would be mechanically recycled in Valencia, Spain, by the Spanish company Eslava, in partnership with Valorplast.
But no monitoring is being done today on the overall recovery of polystyrene waste in France. Only 3 to 4% of the deposit [total de polystyrène] is exported outside France to be recycled in an open loop, i.e. in objects not suitable for food contact, such as hangers or flower pots”assure Zero Waste France.
In 2021, lobbying by industry had borne fruit, replacing a strict ban with a ban on packaging only without a recycling channel. And three years later, a new postponement has been announced. Until 2030? The Ministry of Ecological Transition now assures that it will be up to the future government to decide.warns the media investigation. In the meantime, the Zero Waste France association is calling for a parliamentary commission of inquiry to be set up following the legislative elections. It asks: in 2024, 300 million euros of public support were invested via France 2030 for “ strengthen investment in the plastic recycling and incorporation chain “, without success.
Cover image credit: Atoms Unsplash
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