The French Senate has started its first reading of the country’s Anti-Waste Bill that will lead to the introduction of a national recycling collection system.
By 31 December 2022, everyone in France will use the same coloured bin for their recycling and waste.
The yellow bin will be used for recycling plastics, metals and other recyclable materials.
A blue bin will be used to collect paper and cardboard unless a community decides to collect this in the yellow bin too.
Glass will be collected separately in a green bin, while a brown bin will be used for food waste and other organic materials.
Finally, a grey bin will take residual waste.
A single logo will replace others such as the green dot, and will be mandatory. This logo will include recycling instructions for the product.
Manufacturers will be subject to extended producer responsibility and will need to finance recycling via an eco-contribution.
Those that design their products in an environmentally friendly way by incorporating recycled materials or eliminating unnecessary packaging will receive a bonus on the fee they pay for management of the materials and end-of-life treatment.
While companies that do not use an ecodesign approach will be given an increased penalty.
France will also introduce a deposit scheme on plastic bottles, glass bottles and cans that was abandoned in the 1980s. The amount that the public can receive by placing it in the correct part of the national recycling collection system will be displayed on the packaging.
