On June 29th 2021, a decree has been issued to inform users about the waste sorting rule for products subject to the principle of extended producer responsibility.
This legal text becomes effective the day after its publication. The previous labelling is to be implemented gradually from 2022 Jan. 1st on.
What about the legal requirements for sorting and recycling in France ?
This decision aims to inform the users with a clear and streamlined instruction for the sorting and waste recycling in the framework of the AGEC law (Anti-Waste for a Circular Economy) –
To know more about that topic, you can read L.541-9-3 and L.541-10-11 articles from the Environmental Code.
The AGEC law (30 articles) aims to raise the level of waste on a global scale.
The objective is to move from a linear economy (Produce / Consume / Throw) to a circular economy (Produce / Consume/ Produce again).
Elle se décline en cinq grands axes :
- move away from disposable plastic;
- improve consumer information;
- reduce waste and solidarity re-use;
- act against scheduled obsolescence;
- Improve manufacturing.
- New objectives for the coming years.
Penalties will be applied for non-compliance with this regulation. This is a way to ensure that the law is properly enforced.
New information will therefore appear on packagings.
How does this affect manufacturers ?
The implementation schedule for the updated legislation is provided to the manufacturer :
The new labeling procedure is required as of 2022 Jan 1st. For those who put goods on the market, the deadline is set on 2022 Sept. 9th .
This applies to disposable products, whether they are recyclable or not.
The manufacturer must make this identification according to several criteria such as:
- The FR logo is required for French-made products manufactured and exported (This FR logo is not required for products sold only in France).
- A specific pantone defines the sorting identification colors coding :
- Yellow for plastic packaging according to Pantone 123C – C0 M25 J86 N0.
- Green for glass packaging according to Pantone (pending information)
- Black for the inscriptions according to Pantone Black C – C0 M0 J0 N100
Beware: these colors are used only when the products are intended for France only because the legislation may be different from one country to another. In the case of a product also intended for export, all information will be printed in black.
- The destination of the product after use (if it is recyclable or not) This information can be printed as a simple pictogram or as a pictogram combined with text.
CITEO has issued a survey that recommends using the pictogram with text because it is clearer for 2/3 of consumers.
2 formats are precisely described: compact or standard.
New legal framework: What impacts for users ?
The information will be clear and will allow users to organize sorting and thus participate in the progressive implementation of a circular economy for the respect of the environment.
Your packaging is changing – laviedulabo.fr keeps you informed !
