By Fredrica Syren:
France is once again proving to be a pioneer as a country by making changes that will benefit the planet. They already have banned plastic bags and food waste for grocery stores, and now have taken another positive green step as the first country to ban plastic cups and dishes.
The new law, which passed last month, requires that by January of 2020, 50% of the components in all single-use cups, plates and other dishware sold in the country be biologically sourced materials that can be composted. That ratio will rise to 60% by January of 2025. The effort is part of France’s Energy Transition for Green Growth Act, a law adopted last year with the goal of mitigating the impact of climate change.
Today, more than 4.7 billion plastic cups end up in landfills every year. Only one percent of these items are recycled, due largely to the fact that they are made of a mixture of polypropylene and polystyrene.
Of course, not everyone is happy with this new law; an industry association representing Europe’s leading food-packaging manufacturers, Pack2GoEurope, claims the law violates EU-Law for free movements of goods. This group is pushing the EU Commission to block the French law and is considering taking legal action against France.