At a press conference at the premises of the Association of Mayors of France, mayors and representatives of intercommunalities, responsible for the management of household waste, denounced a measure "anti-ecological, under cover of green varnish", which would deprive them of a significant financial windfall without improving the collection of plastic waste.
In January, the government relaunched a debate on the implementation of these guidelines, an initiative that had previously been withdrawn during the vote on the anti-waste law for a circular economy (Agec) in 2020.
European targets for plastic bottle collection rates are 90% in 2029, but France caps below 60%, with plastic packaging not being collected or sorted in most street bins or workplaces.
Plastic bottles represent "less than 1% of household waste" and "are among the best recovered plastic waste, with a recycling rate of 70% against 23% for other plastic waste," explained the UDI mayor of Bures-sur-Yvette (Essonne), Jean-François Vigier.
According to the mayors, the government would do better to focus "on the thousands of consumer products that have no selective collection and recycling solution".
"This measure, which does not reduce waste, 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", said Jean-François Debat, PS mayor of Bourg-en-Bresse (Ain).
In addition, the ecological benefit of the deposits would be close to "zero", continue the associations, citing the example of Germany where the deposit has led to an "increase in the production and sales of single-use plastic bottles".
To achieve European recycling targets, elected officials are making 14 proposals, including the promotion of tap water, increasing the frequency of collections and setting up a separate collection of all packaging consumed outside the home.
© 2023 AFP