The French government intends to introduce a bonus-malus system to incite consumers to buy products packaged with recycled plastic. This measure is part of the 100% recyclable plastic target set for 2025.
Brune Poirson, Secretary of State to the Minister of Ecological and Inclusive Transition, announced in August 2018 that this initiative would reduce the price of products packaged with recycled plastic by up to 10%, while the price of those packaged with non-recycled plastic would conversely increase by 10%.
The announcement triggered a reaction among associations. “We hope that manufacturers will play along with the game so the consumers are not directly sanctioned,” indicated Flore Berlingen, director of the association Zero Waste France. According to Fanny Vismara of the collective Plastic Attack France, “the bonus-malus system is part of the solution, although incomplete, since it only concerns recycling and not plastic reduction.”
The plastic industry is flourishing. Global production progressed by 40% within 10 years, going from 245 to 348 million tons, with packaging as its primary market. As a response to this problem, some major retailers like Carrefour, for example, plan to remove from their shelves all non-recyclable plastic packaging of organic fruits and vegetables.
