The glass deposit will return to France

Flip her glass jar of spread so it's refilled? France will set up within two years a deposit on glass packaging by first launching experiments with voluntary hypermarkets, announced Thursday the Secretary of State for Ecology, Bérangère Couillard. The "mother of battles is to lower plastic production" said Berangère Couillard during a telephone press briefing, announcing "the return of the glass deposit" in France for bottles and jars, with the objective of phasing out single-use plastic packaging in 2040.

"For the reuse of glass, there will be discussions of the legal framework before the end of the year, experiments which will be implemented next year, and a generalization of the network within two years" has she clarified. Supermarkets and hypermarkets, depending on their surface area, will then have the “obligation” to take back empty glass packaging. The first experiments will be launched with voluntary hypermarkets, she said, citing Carrefour in particular "which has been very up-and-coming" on the possibility of becoming "voluntary drop-off point for empty glass packaging". “There will also be washing points” for bottles and jars all over the territory, she said without further details. Some have already been set up, notably in Rennes.

In early May, the Secretary of State and the eco-organization Citeo, responsible for the management of packaging and paper, announced the launch of standard glass bottles or jars by glassmakers such as Verallia or O-I, in order to encourage manufacturers in the food and beverage industry to adopt them, so as to promote their reuse. Bérangère Couillard specified that a fund of “50 million euros” would be intended to encourage producers to adopt these standard reusable glass containers, instead of disposable plastic. In France, the reuse of household packaging remains "well below 1%", according to the Ministry of Ecological Transition, and the objective is to reach 10% of reused packaging in 2027.

The announced return of the glass deposit is just one of the measures announced this Thursday by France to try to improve the sorting and recycling of its household waste and packaging. Paris having been pinned at the beginning of the month by Brussels for its insufficient performance in this area. Only about 23% of plastic packaging is collected and recycled in France, with a bottle collection rate that peaks at 60% in 2021 and 2022, while the consumption of plastic bottles is up again by 4% in 2022, admits the Ministry.

However, the official objective is to get out of single-use plastic in 2040, and to reach 50% recycled plastic packaging by 2025. "If we stay on this trajectory, at this rate, in 2029 we will not even reach the objectives set for 2025," lamented the Secretary of State. Bérangère Couillard thus said she was considering "banning non-recyclable plastics by 2025", citing in particular "black carbon sushi-type food trays" and "expanded polystyrene and its white beads".

On the plastic side, she also confirmed that the expected decision on the creation of a deposit for recycling on used plastic bottles had been “postponed” to “end of September”. This report should allow, according to her, to “re-discuss different scenarios” between all the stakeholders: industrialists in the food industry, recycling, plastics, waste, communities, consumer associations, environmental NGOs, etc.

Since the vote on the law on the circular economy two years ago, and especially since the opening of a consultation on the deposit in January, a pitched battle has pitted the beverage and recycling manufacturers against the local authorities managing the sorting of waste, around the property of used bottles, a highly coveted raw material. If plastic bottle deposits were put in place, especially when leaving supermarkets, used bottles would escape the public service of sorting centres, which have nevertheless invested a lot in recent years to increase their sorting volumes and finance themselves from the sale of plastic bottles. plastic bales for recycling.

Another measure, Bérangère Couillard announced the gradual implementation of yellow bins for sorting recyclable packaging in the streets, tourist areas, businesses, and places open to the public, which have so far escaped the selective sorting of waste. "In street bins we have trouble sorting and therefore ultimately recycling plastics," she admitted. However, these bins collect a lot of recyclable bottles and cans, especially in places of passage and festive occasions, as well as in companies.

On the household side, the Secretary of State wishes to encourage "incentive pricing" for waste in order to make those who sort badly pay, or bonus-malus. “The more the French sort, the less they pay,” she summarizes. Incentive pricing already covers 7 million French people, in towns such as La Roche-sur-Yon, Besançon or in rural communities such as Dombe in Ain, she underlined.