A draft decree provides for an annual proportion of reused packaging for the period from 2022 to 2027. This draft decree aims to reach 10% by the end of this period. This draft was put out for consultation until September 19 of this year. The text has been proposed in application of Article 67 of the Anti-waste law for a circular economy (Agec). This article provides for a decree to be put in place to set the minimum proportion of reused packaging to be put on the market annually in France. This article completes article 9 of the same law, which provides that France should have a trajectory to increase the proportion of reused packaging that is put on the market. Two targets have been set: a target of 5% of packaging reused by 2023 and 10% by 2027.

For each year of the period to which this decree applies, a minimum proportion of reused packaging has been specified: 1.5% for 2022, 5% for 2023, 6% for 2024, 7% for 2025, 8% for 2026 and 10% for 2027. The draft also defines the unit of measurement for reused packaging as "any primary, secondary or tertiary packaging". The draft decree also specifies that it is also possible to use half a liter or half a kilo as a unit of measurement if it is considered more appropriate for the product being marketed.
The text then defines what is a reused packaging. It defines it as packaging that has been used at least once more for the same purpose for which it was designed. The text also provides for a decision of this second use as was "filled at the point of sale in the context of bulk sales, or at home if it is a refill device organized by the producer.

The text then came to set a scope of application to determine the packaging concerned but also the exceptions that can be made. This reuse obligation applies to producers responsible for placing at least 10,000 units of packaged products on the market per year and whose annual turnover exceeds a certain threshold. This threshold is set at €50 million until December 31, 2024 and then at €20 million in 2025. As of January 2026, this threshold no longer exists. A collective structure can also be created to bring together producers who must fulfill their obligation, thus making it easier for them to do so. However, the creation of this type of structure is not without consequences, as the producers in this type of structure become jointly and severally responsible for meeting the annual target for all producers. This type of structure can also be used for the eco-organizations approved for the extended producer responsibility channels for household and professional packaging. Some products do not fall within the scope of the text, the packaging of products for which a legislative or regulatory provision prohibits reuse are the subject of this exception. This prohibition is often based on hygiene or consumer safety requirements. For the years 2022 and 2023, packaging with identification marks is also excluded if the specifications prohibit their reuse.

Other related provisions are also part of the text. It is the observatory of the reuse and the re-use, created by the law Agec, which will have to realize a study which will allow to have a better idea of the possible margins of progress. This study will be delivered in December 2022 and could lead to a reassessment of the trajectory decided as planned by the project.