Anti-Waste Circular Economy Act: Measures in Place and Coming

The AGEC law of 10 February 2020 aims to transform the linear economy, “produce, consume, discard”, into a circular economy. It is divided into five main areas:

• removing disposable plastic;
• better inform consumers;
• combat waste and promote solidarity-based re-use;
• take action against planned obsolescence;
• produce better.

Today, with the AGEC law, several measures are already part of the daily life of the French. Others are being deployed. The aim is to put an end to all forms of waste.

Measures already in place

The Exit of Plastic Use 

• Prohibition of certain single-use plastic products (plates, straws, cups, cutlery, cotton buds, expanded polystyrene boxes).
• End of disposable dishes in restaurants, especially fast food, for meals eaten on site.
• Removing plastic packaging around fruits and vegetables that can be sold in bulk.

Information on sorting and sustainable products

• Deployment of info-sort signage.
• Generalization of the collection of plastic packaging in the yellow tray.
• Implementation of the repairability index.
• Requirements for manufacturers to put on-line detailed information on the environmental characteristics of products (e.g. for textiles, geographical traceability of manufacturing stages).

Reducing waste

• Prohibition on disposing of unsold non-food products.

A second life for products

• Implementation of the "repair bonus" for electrical and electronic devices.
• Implementation of in-store take-back of several everyday objects: furniture, toys, sports and leisure items, DIY and gardening items.

10 upcoming actions between 2023 and 2025

• A new sustainability index on electronics. From 2024, the repairability index becomes a sustainability index taking into account 3 criteria: robustness, reliability, scalability. The first products concerned will be smartphones, televisions and washing machines.
• Printing cash receipts on demand for small daily purchases, starting in spring 2023.
• A new circular economy sector for professional packaging (pallets, films, boxes, etc.).
• Expand the collection of packaging, develop the deposit.
• Expand the deployment of sorting bins in public spaces.
• Implementation of a strategy to reduce, reuse and recycle plastic packaging (3R strategy).
• Implementation of a roadmap 2023-2028 specific to the textile sector: better collection, better recycling, better repair, developing the second life of textiles, supporting virtuous companies that respect environmental labels.
• Develop solutions for plastic microfiber filters on washing machines to prevent the release of microplastics that pollute the ocean.
• To provide the French with a solution for collecting food waste to convert this bio-waste into biogas or compost that is useful for the circular economy of the territories.
• Deploy eco-design bonuses and rebates to incentivize manufacturers to make their products more sustainable and recyclable.

To learn more about the future measures of the AGEC law.