France bans plastic cups and cutlery as of 2020

French lawmakers have passed legislation to ban all plastic cups and cutlery that are not made of biologically-sourced materials. The law will come into effect in 2020, and is designed to ensure that all disposable plates, cups, knives and forks will have to be made of biologically-sourced materials and can be composted. There is some uncertainty whether the law violates European Union rules on free movement of goods. The European organisation Pack2Go is considering legal action.
Around 5 billion plastic cups are thrown away in France annually, with an estimated 1% actually recycled. France introduced a ban on plastic bags at supermarkets earlier this year (PackagingNews, 19 September 2016).
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Click here for the legislation.
Click here for the legislation integrated in the ‘Code de Environment’ (in French).
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