Anyone remember a little thing called the COP21 Climate Change Conference? It was just a little meeting where a lot of big countries made a lot of big promises. And France is following through.
Effective January 2020, all disposable tableware (i.e. plastic plates, plastic cups, plastic silverware, etc.) are required to be made of at least 50% biologically sourced materials. By 2025, they will have to be at least 60%.
What will this do? The biologically-sourced materials will allow these items to be composted at home. Imagine how much garbage that will prevent.
The French Association of Health and Environment (ASEF) claims that about 150 single-use cups are thrown away every second in France. That means 4.73 billion cups per year. Out of all these cups, only 1% is recycled, mainly because a majority of the cups are non-recyclable—as they are made of a mixture of polypropylene and polystyrene.
Source: http://www.sustainablebrands.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/635×300/…
This ban is a follow-up to this past July, when France outright banned all lightweight plastic bags at supermarket checkouts. They were not the first country to ban the bags, but France is the first with their plates and cups ban.
Source: http://shoroc.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/plastic-bags.gif
The ban is only a small part of France’s efforts. Their “Energy Transition for Green Growth Act” is pretty awesome. (You should look at all their other cool ideas: http://www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/14123-8-GB_loi-TE-mode-emploi_DEF_light.pdf).
The act aims to make France “an exemplary nation in terms of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, diversifying its energy model and increasing the deployment of renewable energy sources.”
France refuses to be hypocritical. They hosted COP21 and they’re making sure to show the rest of the world that real changes are possible.
Source: https://www.crossed-flag-pins.com/animated-flag-gif/gifs/France_240-anim…
We can all thank Ségolène Royal—France’s Minister for Ecology, Sustainable Development, and Energy—for this new plastic ban. She has big goals of her own: her “Green Growth Plan” cutting landfill waste 50% by 2025 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030. You go, girl.
France’s Act quotes Paul Eluard in saying, “there is another world, but it is in this one.” With Eluard’s idea in mind, France says, “we have the desire, we have the talent and we have the solutions to create this new world, right now.”
France has dropped their cards, and they’re pretty impressive. Now, the question is: what will the rest of the world bring to the table?
Source: http://cdn.playbuzz.com/cdn/fda6d954-da2d-45e4-98c9-182beeab5ab5/9d686ca…
Information Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/09/19/france-bans-plastic-plates-and-cutlery/
http://www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/14123-8-GB_loi-TE-mode-emploi_DEF_light.pdf