Chemical products are used in industrial processes and in everyday life, so it is essential to control their impacts on health and the environment.  

End-of-life management of these products is essential in order to prevent waste becoming contaminated and protect the health both of operators and the environment.

However, the issues we face today go beyond waste management alone. Several challenges must be met:  

• reducing the consumption of resources;
• limiting emissions during production;
• controlling the use of substances of concern. 

Products concerned 

The products concerned are household waste from chemical products that may pose a significant risk to health and the environment. 

For further information, see article R543-228 of the Environmental Code.
 

List of products 

The list of products concerned is given in the Order of 1 December 2020.
 

Are your products packaged ?

If so, you also come under the household packaging and graphic papers (EMPAP) scheme. 

The producers concerned are: “Any natural person or legal entity that, in a professional capacity, either produces in France, or imports or introduces for the first time on the national market, chemical products [...] intended to be transferred to the end user either in return for payment or free of charge using any selling technique whatsoever, or to be used directly within French national territory.”  

Where chemical products are sold under the sole brand of a reseller, this reseller is considered to be a producer.

For further information, see article 541-10 of the Environmental Code.  

The regulations define 10 different categories for chemical products: 

When a producer joins a producer responsibility organisation (PRO), it pays the organisation an EPR fee in return for the latter taking responsibility for its obligations relating to the products it places on the market.

This amount may be modulated upwards or downwards depending on the environmental characteristics of the products. A bonus rewards virtuous practices, while a penalty is applied to a product with characteristics that have a significant impact on the environment or human health.

Bonuses

Applicable within the chemical products EPR scheme in 2025

Penalty

Applicable within the chemical products EPR scheme in 2025

Category 2 products (small fire extinguishers) may be subject to both a bonus and a penalty.

Producers, to enquire about the conditions you have to meet and the procedures you have to complete to benefit from a bonus, or check whether you are subject to a penalty, please contact your producer responsibility organisation.

Find out more about EPR fee modulation

The specifications set the following targets: 

• Specifications: Order of 1 October 2021
• Data reporting: Order of 12 December 2022
• Latest accreditation of EcoPAE: Order of 30 October 2024
• Latest accreditation of EcoDDS: Order of 28 December 2021
• Latest accreditation of Pyréo: Order of 29 December 2021
• Accreditation of Ecosystem (accreditation terminated): Order of 20 December 2022
• List of chemical products: Order of 1 October 2020
• Prevention and management of household waste from chemical products: Decree no. 2012-13 of 4 January 2012
• Legislation establishing the scheme: Article L541-10-1 of the Environmental Code
   

Collection

The scheme’s producer responsibility organisations organise waste collection directly from designated voluntary drop-off (collection) points, to which consumers can bring their waste for correct handling.

Waste chemical products are collected at several types of drop-off point: 

• Those run by local authorities, often via waste collection centres
• Distributor take-back systems  
• Other types: professional network, ad hoc collections, etc. 

The producer responsibility organisations are responsible for signing contracts with collection and treatment operators, and for the traceability of the waste up to final treatment. 

Treatment 

The transport and treatment of hazardous waste is strictly regulated: 

• Regulations on the transport of dangerous goods
• Use of Installations Listed for Environmental Protection (under French 'ICPE' regulations) to treat waste
• Declaration on the register of polluting emissions 

Category-specific requirements 

Pyrotechnic products (PYRO) 

Two types of collection are used in the case of pyrotechnic products: 

• regular collection, mainly via distributor take-back points such as marine supply stores
• a one-off collection organised by the producer responsibility organisation. 

Two methods are used to treat end-of-life pyrotechnic products: 

• Incineration with energy recovery
• Desensitisation with recovery of the metal fraction and disposal of the residual waste 

Fire extinguishers (PAE) 

Fire extinguishers are mainly collected via professional networks and distributor take-back. They are then grouped together at decommissioning facilities to be dismantled and separated into several fractions. 

Categories 3 à 10

The chemical products are mainly collected at waste collection centres, and sorted according to their hazard classes. This separation is necessary because of incompatibilities between different chemical products and the regulations governing transport (TDG).  

Final treatment of these products usually consists of incineration at hazardous waste treatment facilities.

It should be noted that the scope of the chemical products EPR scheme covers both the contents and the container. 

The website Que faire de mes déchets/objets (“What to do with my waste and objects”) is designed to help individuals adopt best practices in terms of repair, reuse and recycling.  
It is based on a simple, intuitive search engine: by entering an object or waste item, users can find out how to dispose of it responsibly.  
An interactive map also shows them where they can find their nearest collection, repair and reuse points.