FRENCH REPUBLIC Ministry of Ecological Transition

Decree No. of

defining rates of incorporation of recycled plastic into beverage bottles
Decree No 2021-1610 of 9 December 2021 on the incorporation of recycled plastic into beverage bottles

NOR: TREP2109247D
ELI: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/eli/decret/2021/12/9/TREP2109247D/jo/texte
Alias: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/eli/decret/2021/12/9/2021-1610/jo/texte
JORF No 0288 of 11 December 2021
Text No 4

Target Audience: producers, importers and distributors of single-use plastic beverage bottles.

Subject: definition of rates of incorporation of recycled plastic in beverage bottles in 2025 and 2030.

Entry into force: the provisions of Articles 1 and 2 come into force on the dates specified in article 3 of the Decree.

Notice: the Decree, issued pursuant to Article L. 541-9 of the Environment Code, as introduced by Article 61 of the Law of 10 February 2020 on the fight against waste and on the circular economy, applies to beverage bottles the obligation to incorporate recycled material in accordance with the Directive of 5 June 2019 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment. It transposes the minimum rates of incorporation of recycled plastic into beverage bottles and the deadlines laid down in this Directive: A minimum 25 % in 2025 for PET-type plastic bottles and a minimum of 30 % for all plastic bottles from 2030. The Decree states, however, that this obligation does not apply to non-refrigerated plastic milk bottles and provides for a progress report in 2025 to review this condition.

References: the Environmental Code modified by this Decree can be consulted, in its drafting resulting from this amendment, on the website of Légifrance (https://legifrance.gouv.fr).
Target Audience: producers, importers and distributors of single-use plastic beverage bottles, approved eco-organisations.
Subject: definition of rates of incorporation of recycled plastic in beverage bottles in 2025 and 2030 and the related verification procedures.
Entry into force: the provisions of Articles 1 and 2 come into force on the dates specified in article 3 of the Decree.
Notice: the Decree is issued pursuant to the Law of 10 February 2020 on the fight against waste and on the circular economy. It applies to beverage bottles, including their plastic caps and lids, as defined in Article R. 543-43(IV)(1) of the Environmental Code, the obligation to incorporate recycled material in accordance with the Directive of 5 June 2019 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment. Thus, the Decree does not apply to beverage bottles with a capacity of more than three litres.
It states, furthermore, that this obligation does not apply to non-refrigerated plastic milk bottles and provides for a report in 2025 to review this derogation. The Decree transposes the minimum rates of incorporation of recycled plastic into beverage bottles and the deadlines laid down in this Directive: A minimum 25 % in 2025 for PET-type plastic bottles and a minimum of 30 % for all plastic bottles from 2030.
Finally, the Decree specifies the procedures for verifying these rates. It provides that eco-organisations in the extended producer responsibility sector applicable to packaging carry out a first level of verification of these rates, and inform the administrative authority if non-compliance is found.
References: the Environmental Code modified by the Decree can be consulted, in its drafting resulting from this amendment, on the website of Légifrance (https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr).

The Prime Minister,
On the report by the Minister of Ecological Transition,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 2004 on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food;
Having regard to Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 September 2015 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical regulations and of rules on Information Society services;
Having regard to Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment;
Having regard to the Environmental Code, including its article L. 541-9 (II);
Having regard to notification No 2021/321/F to the European Commission, dated 3 June 2021;
Having regard to the consultation of representatives of the sectors concerned carried out from 14 to 24 June 2021, pursuant to Article L. 541-9(II) of the Environmental Code;

On the report by the Minister of Ecological Transition,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 2004 on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food;

Having regard to Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 September 2015 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical regulations and of rules on Information Society services;

Having regard to Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment;

Having regard to the Environmental Code, including its article L. 541-9 (II);

Having regard to notification No xxx to the European Commission, xxx;

Having regard to the comments made during the public consultation carried out from xxx to xxx, pursuant to Article L. 123-19-1 of the Environmental Code,

Having regard to the comments made during the public consultation carried out from 4 June 2021 to 25 June 2021, pursuant to Article L. 123-19-1 of the Environmental Code,
Hereby decrees:

Article 1

Section 5 of Chapter III of Title IV of Book V of the regulatory part of the Environmental Code is amended as follows:
After Article D. 543-45-1 of the Environmental Code, Article D. 543-45-2 is inserted as follows:

After Article R. 543-45-1, Article D. 543-45-2 is inserted as follows:
‘Art. D. 543-45-2. - I. - For the purposes of this article, “plastic” means any material as defined in Article D. 541-330(1).
‘II. - Pursuant to Article L. 541-9(II), the rate of incorporation of recycled plastic in beverage bottles composed predominantly of a mass of polyethylene terephthalate is at least 25 %. This rate shall be calculated as the mass of recycled polyethylene terephthalate of each bottle relative to the total plastic mass of that bottle.
‘The preceding subparagraph shall not apply to:

‘Art. D. 543-45-2. — I. – Pursuant to Article L. 541-9, the rate of incorporation of recycled plastic in beverage bottles composed predominantly of a mass of polyethylene terephthalate is at least 25 %. This rate shall be calculated as the mass of recycled polyethylene terephthalate of each bottle relative to the total plastic mass of that bottle.

‘The preceding subparagraph shall not apply to paper labels affixed to such bottles or to beverage bottles containing foodstuffs intended for special medical purposes within the meaning of Article 2(g) of Regulation (EU) No 609/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 2013 and which are in liquid form.
‘- paper labels affixed to such bottles or to beverage bottles;
‘- beverage bottles containing foodstuffs intended for special medical purposes within the meaning of Article 2(g) of Regulation (EU) No 609/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 2013 and which are in liquid form;
‘- glass or metal beverage bottles with plastic caps or lids.

‘Every eco-organism set up pursuant to Article L. 541-10 for the categories of products falling within the 1° or 2° of Article L. 541-10-1 shall verify compliance with this article with the producers who have transferred to it the obligation referred to in I of Article L. 541-10. To this end, they shall, at its request, provide the Commission with the evidence justifying compliance with the rate of incorporation of recycled material referred to in the preceding paragraph.

Where appropriate, the eco-organisation shall inform the administrative authority without delay of any finding of non-compliance with the provisions of this Article.

II. — The provisions of this Article shall not apply to non-refrigerated milk bottles.

‘The provisions of this II shall be reviewed before 31 December 2025 in the light of a progress report taking into account the availability of the different types of containers for non-refrigerated milk and the opinions given by the European Food Safety Authority to applications for authorisation for the use of recycled plastic for these bottles submitted under the conditions laid down in Article 9 of Regulation No 1935/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 2004 on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food.’
‘Where appropriate, the eco-organisation shall inform the administrative authority of any finding of non-compliance with the provisions of this Article by no later than 2 months from the finding.
‘III. - The provisions of II of this Article do not apply to non-refrigerated milk bottles.
‘The provisions of this III shall be reviewed before 31 December 2025 in the light of a report taking into account among others the availability of the different types of containers for non-refrigerated milk and the opinions given by the European Food Safety Authority to applications for authorisation for the use of recycled plastic for these bottles submitted under the conditions laid down in Article 9 of Regulation No 1935/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 2004 on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food.’

Article 2

In the first paragraph of Article D. 543-45-2, the words “mostly compounded of a mass of polyethylene terephthalate” are replaced by the words “in plastic as defined in Article D. 541-330”, the rate of 25 % is replaced by the rate of 30 % and the second occurrence of the words ‘polyethylene terephthalate’ is replaced by the word ‘plastic’.
In the first paragraph of Article D. 543-45-2(II), the words “mostly compounded of a mass of polyethylene terephthalate” are replaced by the words “in plastic as defined in

Article D. 541-330”, the rate of 25 % is replaced by the rate of 30 % and the second occurrence of the words ‘polyethylene terephthalate’ is replaced by the word ‘plastic’.

Article 3

I. – The provisions of Article 1 shall enter into force on 1 January 2025.

II. – The provisions of Article 2 shall enter into force on 1 January 2030.
I. - The provisions of Article 1 shall enter into force on 1 January 2025.
II. - The provisions of Article 2 shall enter into force on 1 January 2030.

Article 4

The Minister of Ecological Transition and the Minister for the Economy, Finance and Recovery shall be responsible, within the scope of their respective competences, for the implementation of this Decree, which shall be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.

Dated
Dated 9 December 2021.

By the Prime Minister,
Jean Castex
By the Prime Minister:

The Minister for the Ecological Transition,
Barbara Pompili

The Minister for the Economy, Finance and the Recovery,
Bruno Le Maire