Paris (AFP)

In Schiltigheim, bottles of Fischer beer will soon be consigned.

In Valence, the starred chef Anne-Sophie Pic is launching a recovery sector for her verrines of ready-made meals ... A host of local initiatives are emerging to reuse jars, bottles and other glass food packaging, particularly in fast food restaurants.

And this, while the industrial and systematic deposit of wine bottles has long since disappeared for individuals in France.

In Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne producers are also preparing a project to reuse their glass packaging.

The Anti-waste law for a circular economy (known as AGEC) which entered into force on January 1, which penalizes single-use plastic and encourages bulk sales, also sets targets in terms of re-use of packaging: 5% of objects sold to individuals and in catering (cafes, hotels, restaurants) must be reusable by 2025, and 10% in 2027.

Suddenly, "we are at the first step of a whole process, there is a whole ecosystem which is being set up on reuse", declares to AFP Antoine Robichon, deputy director of Citeo, the company specializing in the recycling of food packaging.

The wine industry is nevertheless opposed to the climate law under discussion generalizing the deposit and further accentuating the tendency to bulk and reuse.

She deems "economically inaccessible" to set up a standardized system, with bottle washing, which would also involve a lot of transport of empty bottles, which is not very virtuous from an environmental point of view.

It was heard by the Minister of Ecological Transition Barbara Pompili, who judged Friday in the Assembly that it was not necessary to put in difficulty a certain number of already established distribution networks.

However, around fifteen SMEs or associations in the wine sector (Jean Bouteille, Ma Bouteille is called comes back, Bout 'à bout', Reconcil, etc.) have already relaunched deposit mechanisms locally.

- 34 awarded projects -

Even the first food packaging manufacturer in Europe and third in the world, the French glassmaker Verallia, is getting started.

In January, he promised a "pilot project" in France for deposit and reuse in food products and non-alcoholic drinks.

Last week, Citeo and Ademe (Ecological Transition Agency) awarded 34 very diverse local projects.

One of the most emblematic is that of the young company Uzaje which inaugurated at the beginning of the year its first bottle washing center in Neuilly-sur Marne (Seine-Saint-Denis) to wash 40 million containers per year. .

With support from Ademe and Citeo, Uzaje plans to open another center for the Grand Est region by the end of the year.

"We need to test different models," says Robichon.

"A large industrialist like Coca Cola could easily embark on a project on its own, but what about a Breton agri-food SME that sells in Nice? We must avoid the transport of empty bottles and therefore pool reuse locally", emphasizes- he.

Among the other prize-winners, Alpes Consigne in Isère, Savoie and Haute-Savoie, is also planning to open a washing center this year.

Daily Pic, the fast food business of the three-star chef Anne-Sophie Pic, is also planning to set up a recovery circuit this year for its gourmet verrines.

In Auvergne, the Maceo project brings together all brewers, wine growers, fruit and vegetable processors and beekeepers around a common project.

In Toulouse, the "In a box the dish" project of the ETIC Emballage association plans to mobilize 200 businesses for a network which should also set up in Rennes.

Until Danone, which is already experimenting with a glass yoghurt pot in Great Britain, and which has received support from Ademe and Citeo for a project which has hitherto been kept confidential, which should be "brought to light" this year, according to the Ademe website.

List of winning projects:

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