After the rejection of the Senate, that of mayors, and the announcements of the government which is now considering a postponed implementation by 2023, the bill on the recycling of plastic bottles has undergone many transformations, to the point of being able to say that he died born?

ON DECRYPT

After the rejection of the Senate in late September, and the government's proposal to conduct "experiments" in "voluntary" territories for implementation by 2023, can we say that the bill on the deposit of bottles plastic is finishing in the water? Back on the peregrinations of a bill that is far from unanimous.

The arrest of the Senate, and mayors

Since its presentation in the Council of Ministers last July, the text has evolved. However, the first draft of the bill was clear: pay a few cents extra a bottle of water and then be refunded the difference when it is brought in a container in the parking lot of the supermarket. But it was the senators who were the first to draw, preferring to promote the deposit of glass bottles, instead of recycling plastic.

A measure that forced Brune Poirson, the Secretary of State for the Ecological Transition, to propose a compromise with a mixed directive whose recycling of plastic would finance the deposit of glass bottles, as in the 1970s. But this time it is the mayors who have blocked: they believe that they have given enough on the subject with the introduction of the system of yellow bins, and pledge to achieve the goal of 90% of plastic bottles collected in 2029 without government assistance.

The concern of associations

Two important refusals that force the government to review its copy and worry the community that tries to convince him not to let down the enthusiasm of citizens for the deposit. "We are quite worried about what will happen now," says Laura Châtel, campaign manager of the association Zero Waste. "Our great expectation with this law was that it would redefine the deposit on glass bottles, the one that we knew traditionally and that allows to reuse, wash and refill the bottle."

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But with these setbacks, the campaigner wonders if "the deputies will include in the law binding targets for companies, and thus require them to market a number of products in reusable glass bottles." According to her, "the consumer wants to see returnable glass bottles on the shelves of shops and supermarkets, so it seems difficult to wait for several years before this is redeveloped."

Will the bill meet the expectations of mayors, associations, the Senate, but especially the French? To find out, we must wait until December 9, when it will be studied in public session in the National Assembly.