On the eve of a national consultation meeting, mayors and representatives of intercommunalities, responsible for the management of household waste, denounced at a press conference a measure according to them "anti-ecological, under cover of green varnish", which would destabilize the public waste collection system without improving plastic collection.

In January, the government relaunched a debate on the implementation of these guidelines, an initiative previously withdrawn in extremis during the vote on the anti-waste law for a circular economy (Agec) in 2020.

The consultation, which includes six national meetings and one per region, is due to end in June, but the mayors fear that the government will go through the regulatory route, without involving Parliament, to decide whether to set up the deposit or improve the selective sorting of waste.

The European targets for the collection rate of plastic bottles are 90% in 2029.

But the France caps below 60%, plastic packaging is neither collected nor sorted in most street bins or workplaces.

Plastic bottles represent "350,000 tons, or less than 1% of household waste, which totals 39 million tons, and are among the best recovered plastic waste, with a recycling rate of 70% against 23% for other plastic waste," said Jean-François Vigier, UDI mayor of Bures-sur-Yvette (Essonne).

To improve recycling rates, the government would do better, according to the mayors, to focus on other plastic packaging or the "thousands of consumer products that have no selective collection and recycling solution".

"Scam"

"The deposit does not reduce waste," said Jean-François Debat, PS mayor of Bourg-en-Bresse (Ain).

"It is an intellectual scam that consists in using the word +deposit +, perceived positively in the opinion, for an operation that is not one since the bottle will not be reused but destroyed to be recycled, that is to say that it will end up in exactly the same place as when it is thrown into the yellow bin of selective collection," he added.

In addition, the ecological benefit of the deposits would be close to "zero", continue the associations of elected officials, citing the example of Germany where the deposit has led to an "increase in the production and sales of single-use plastic bottles".

For the consumer, the operation seems to be a zero-sum game since he would pay 20 cents more for his bottle and would then be returned the money advanced after having it "deconfined" in an ATM.

But "it is to forget that all bottles will not necessarily be returned", especially in rural areas, continues Mr. Vigier, who estimates at 400 million euros the benefit that would be derived by the beverage manufacturers and 320 million the loss of revenue for communities.

Mayors accuse beverage manufacturers of wanting to "grab a financial windfall" while communities have invested in expensive machinery. A sorting centre costs around 30 million euros.

The main body responsible for the end of life of household packaging, Citéo considered that "the current collection system alone will not be enough" to achieve the objectives set for the sector. "The only way (...) is to mobilize all stakeholders and all available levers".

While all packaging can be thrown into yellow bins since January 1, 2023, elected officials fear that the introduction of a deposit will create confusion in the minds of the French.

To achieve European recycling targets, the mayors are making 14 proposals, including promoting tap water consumption to halve plastic bottles by 2030, increasing the frequency of collections and setting up separate collection of all packaging consumed outside the home.

© 2023 AFP