About Us

An EPR scheme supervisory body within ADEME

The French state has tasked ADEME with monitoring the EPR schemes in accordance with the EU Directive on waste and the French Anti-Waste Act for a Circular Economy (‘AGEC Law’). This is how, in 2020, the EPR Supervision Department, or DSREP, came into being.

The EU Directive on waste requires:

each Member State to appoint at least one “body independent of private interests or entrust a public authority to oversee the implementation of extended producer responsibility obligations”.
the EPR scheme to cover the costs of providing adequate information to waste holders, and of data gathering and reporting.

ADEME in brief

ADEME is the French Agency for Ecological Transition. It mobilises citizens, companies, and local and regional authorities, helping them to move towards a more resource-efficient, low-carbon economy. To this end it shares expertise, provides funding, and supports transformation projects.

A public agency, ADEME places its expertise and its foresight capabilities at the service of public policies. It operates under the authority of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, the Ministry in charge of Energy and the Ministry in charge of Research

website ADEME

Our EPR scheme monitoring and observation duties

Carrying out preliminary studies and assessments before EPR schemes are set up and accreditations for producer responsibility organisations (PROs) are granted or renewed.

Supporting the ministries in charge of examining accreditation applications from PROs and individual compliance schemes, and contributing to the process.

Monitoring the studies, work and plans undertaken by PROs and individual compliance schemes, in the context of accreditation in particular.

Overseeing the implementation of studies on various schemes or topics of interest for several schemes.

How we can help you

Clear information to guide you

Everything you need to know to help companies putting products on the market to meet their obligations.

Data you can trust, to deepen your understanding

Benchmark figures on EPR schemes and analyses of their performance, easily accessible all in one place.

Analyses to take things further

Studies, insights and analyses to give you a clear grasp of the issues inherent to EPR schemes.

Titre

History of EPR schemes

Date suivante : 1992

Emergence of extended producer responsibility

1975

With the industrial boom of the 1960s, companies had to reconsider how they managed their waste – hazardous waste in particular – and integrate these issues into their production processes. French law no. 75-633 of 15 July 1975, on waste disposal and the recovery of materials, was a watershed event. It marked the birth of the ‘extended producer responsibility’ (‘EPR’) principle, which was subsequently enshrined in the Environmental Code.

EPR gains momentum in France

1992

To reduce the environmental impact of the increasing quantities of waste being generated, it soon became apparent that producers (manufacturers and importers) had to be made responsible for funding the costs of waste management. This was tangible application of the ‘polluter pays’ principle. In France, EPR really took off with the decree of 1 April 1992 on household packaging. The first schemes were gradually set up after that.

The AGEC Law, a turning point for the circular economy

2020

Transforming our system from the ground up is the goal of France’s AGEC Law (‘Anti-Waste Act for a Circular Economy’ to give it its full name), whose 130 articles provide a basis for combating all forms of waste and wastage. It aims to transform our linear economy (produce, consume, discard) into a circular economy (design sustainable products, consume, repair, reuse, recycle, etc.), and enacts the creation of some ten EPR schemes, in addition to the twelve that already existed.

Supervising the EPR schemes through creation of the DSREP within ADEME

2020

To ensure that the new measures introduced by the AGEC Law (article 76) are implemented effectively, an EPR scheme monitoring body was created. At the end of 2020, this task was placed in the hands of ADEME, which thus set up the EPR Supervision Department (abbreviated DSREP). Its assignment involves supervising the schemes and, in particular, assessing the extent to which the PROs and individual compliance schemes meet the targets set by the State.

The Climate and Resilience Law places the focus on reuse

2021

The French ‘Climate and Resilience Law’, the outcome of the ‘Citizens’ Convention on Climate’, includes several measures to promote reuse. Among these, it confirms the creation of a ‘Reuse National Observatory’ for EPR schemes within ADEME. It also expands access to spare parts and improves the information on EPR schemes available to consumers.

The Reuse National Observatory is born

2022

Created by the French Climate and Resilience Law, the Reuse National Observatory (‘Observatoire national du réemploi et de la réutilisation’) has been entrusted to ADEME, within the DSREP. Its task is to become the benchmark centre for resources, data and expertise on the topic, but also to draw the actors together to boost the development of reuse of all types in France.

About Us

About Us

An EPR scheme supervisory body within ADEME

ADEME in brief

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