The plan to adopt the deposit system for plastic bottles in France is being hotly debated. The social partners involved-industry, NGOs, and local authorities-have been convened by the Minister of Ecological Transition, Bérangère Couillard, who has scheduled a dozen meetings to reach as much of a consensus decision as possible within the first half of the year. (1)
Security deposits, resistance in France
The idea of enacting a surcharge as a deposit on each plastic bottle had already been proposed but was put on hold-February 10, 2020, when the Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Act was voted on-because of strenuous opposition from local governments.
As a result, the Paris Parliament had kicked off awide range of measures, postponing consideration of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for further discussion to reach a conclusion by June 2023.
Recycling rates to be improved
The use of the deposit is seen by Minister Couillard as the missing-and indispensable-piece in increasing plastic bottle recycling rates. Collection levels are still insufficient, in Europe as well as in France. Where the national average is 60 percent (with local excellences of 80 percent), far from the goal of 77 percent by 2025.
The DRS system-already successfully applied in other countries (2)-applies a surcharge to the beverage bottled in plastic (PET and HDPE, primarily) as well as in the can or poly-can carton. The amount is then recovered from consumers by returning the empty packaging.
In Germany, for example, the deposit on bottles ranges from 15 to 25 cents depending on the type of plastic. And the return(pfand) is available in every supermarket.
The PET war
Opponents of the deposit have always included environmental NGOs, which call for a tout court reduction in the use of plastics in order to slow global pollution.
Local governments in France, however, remain the staunchest opponents. In fact, municipalities operate with a separate waste management system (delivered by citizens into the yellow bin) that has required significant investment, by local governments, in the rapid and timely sorting of different materials.
The most valuable plastic waste is PET, which is used to produce most plastic bottles. And it is easily recyclable as it is required by industry, which reuses it in the production of new bottles. It is worth 600 to 700 euros per ton on the market. This explains the resistance of municipalities to ‘having their material taken away’ from the automated binders.
The industry that uses-and is obliged to use-recycled PET in turn resists as it fears the further price increases of both this ‘second raw material’ and the final products subject to security deposits. So much for the stated commitments to the circular economy.
Double tax on consumers
Another element of disagreement rests on the double taxation of citizen-consumers, who already pay municipal tax on waste disposal. With the security deposit they would be burdened with a second withdrawal (which should ideally be matched by a reduction in the first one, ed.), as well as forced to go to the deposit points to retrieve it.
A further fear is the widespread looting of yellow bins to extract PET from them for monetization. A phenomenon that has already emerged in cities that have installed automated machines that dispense a fee for each bottle contributed.
Are the other plastics the problem?
The Amorce Association, which brings together communities that organize waste collection and sorting, then states that the priority in waste management would not be bottles, which it says are already well managed, but all other plastics used in food packaging (yogurt, chips), toys, diapers (whose recovery follows a different channel, ed.), whose collection would be close to zero. (3)
Unlike the deposit for glass, which is washed and (to a still minimal extent, ed.) destined for reuse, the recovery of plastic bottles is aimed at shredding and recycling. The same destination already achieved with existing separate collection, according to Amorce, which therefore laments the competition of the two systems (but without considering the better quality of materials collected with DRS, ed.).
Dispersion in consumption ‘hors foyer’
Plastic bottle leakage, according to Amorce’s manager, is not about household consumption, but about consumption outside the home. The ‘hors foyers,’ that is, the bottle you buy at a bakery and drink on your way to work or the one you buy at the stadium. In this case, collection is at zero and should be organized (by installing more collection points in the DRS system, for example, ed.).
Similar situation occurs in areas with a more pronounced tourist vocation. ‘In Île-de-France, less than half of this waste is collected in Paca today. Could it be because the volume thrown into roadside bins is greater in these tourist regions? The idea of this consultation is to identify solutions‘, acknowledges the minister. (4) Looking ahead, remembering the goal, far beyond the security deposit.
‘By 2025, 77 percent of our plastic bottles must be recycled. We also want to halve the number of these disposable bottles and recycle 90 percent of them by 2030. We are at 60%. The step to be taken is big‘.
Marta Strinati
Notes
(1) Bérangère Couillard lance une concertation sur la mise en place éventuelle d’une consigne des bouteilles. Ministère de la Transition écologique et de la Cohésion des territoires 19.1.23 https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/berangere-couillard-lance-concertation-sur-mise-en-place-eventuelle-dune-consigne-des-bouteilles
(2) Marta Strinati. Security deposit system for beverage bottles. The Virtuous Municipalities campaign. GIFT (Gret Italian Food Trade). 13.3.22
(3) Mise en place éventuelle d’une consigne pour les bouteilles en plastique : “Les Français vont payer deux fois,” déplore l’association Amorce. FranceInfo. 30.1.23. https://www.francetvinfo.fr/monde/environnement/mise-en-place-eventuelle-d-une-consigne-pour-les-bouteilles-en-plastique-les-francais-vont-payer-deux-fois-deplore-l-association-amorce_5630606.html
(4) ENTRETIEN. Les bouteilles en plastique bientôt consignées ? ” Une décision sera prise en juin “. Ouest France. 29.1.23 https://www.ouest-france.fr/environnement/dechets/entretien-les-bouteilles-en-plastique-bientot-consignees-une-decision-sera-prise-en-juin-47c1e118-9c9e-11ed-92eb-e890e5f5f960
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
