The key issues for the single-use sanitary textiles EPR scheme are:

• Prevention and management of wipes waste: disposing of wipes incorrectly can disrupt sewage systems in particular,  
• Financial support for local authorities to carry out wipes waste clean-up operations,
• Raising consumer awareness of the environmental impacts of wipes waste, on marine and aquatic environments in particular. 

The scope of the scheme is currently limited to wipes.

According to article R.543-360, III, point 1 of the Environmental Code: “A wipe may be defined as a small piece of material made entirely or partially from natural, artificial or synthetic fibres, which may be pre-wetted, and which is not designed, created or placed on the market to be reused in optimal sanitary conditions for the same purpose for which it was designed. A wipe can be used in domestic and professional settings for hygiene, care, protection, maintenance, cleaning or disinfection purposes.”  

For information purposes, here is a non-exhaustive list of products concerned:  

• Personal care wipes: make-up remover wipes, facial care wipes, intimate hygiene wipes, baby care wipes, after-waxing wipes, refreshing wipes, finger wipes, hand sanitiser wipes, etc.
• Domestic cleaning and/or disinfectant wipes: surface cleaning wipes, stain remover wipes, optical lens wipes, etc.
• Toilet tissue wet wipes,
• Professional and industrial cleaning and/or disinfectant wipes,
• Other wipes: laundry protection or care wipes, dry dusting wipes, etc. 

Categories defined by the regulations 

Decree no. 2024-1166 of 5 December 2024 provides for several categories of single-use sanitary textiles:  

1. Les lingettes, y compris les lingettes préimbibées pour usages corporels et domestiques ;

2. Les équipements de protection individuelle, linges et vêtements ;

3. Les produits d'hygiène en papier autres que ceux relevant des 1° et 2°, à l'exception de ceux destinés à rejoindre les réseaux publics de collecte et les installations d'assainissement non collectif mentionnés respectivement aux articles L. 1331-1 et L. 1331-1-1 du code de la santé publique ;

4. Les produits d'hygiène et de protection intime absorbants ;

5. Les produits utilisés pour des soins médicaux, y compris les dispositifs médicaux tels que définis au II de l'article L. 5211-1 de ce code, sans préjudice, le cas échéant, de l'application des dispositions du code de la santé publique. »

Only the first category, concerning wipes, is covered by EPR at present.  

Are your products packaged  ?

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

The producers concerned by the EPR scheme are:  

• « Any natural person or legal entity established in France that, in a professional capacity, manufactures, sells or imports single-use sanitary textiles, using any selling technique whatsoever, including through distance contracts, and places them on the national market»;
• « Any natural person or legal entity established in another Member State or a third country that, in a professional capacity, sells single-use sanitary textiles in France directly to private households or users other than private households, through distance contracts»;
• « Any natural person or legal entity established in France that, in a professional capacity, sells single-use sanitary textiles in another Member State directly to private households or users other than private households, through distance contracts. In the event that single-use sanitary textiles are sold under the sole brand of a reseller, the reseller is considered to be the person or entity putting them on the market.»   

This regulation is laid down in decree no. 2024-1166 of 5 December 2024.  

The specifications set several targets. 

Reduction target 

The producer responsibility organisation is implementing the actions required to reduce the mass of wipes placed on the market in 2030 by 15% compared to 2026.  

Support for research and development projects and for the development of reusable alternatives 

The producer responsibility organisation allocates the following budgets:  

Contribution to the costs of wipes waste clean-up operations 

The producer responsibility organisation pays financial support of the following amounts:  

Communication campaigns undertaken by the PRO  

The PRO organises local and national information and awareness-raising campaigns at least once a year. Each year it must allocate at least: 

• €2.5m to information campaigns on the environmental impacts of wipes discarded as litter in natural environments or public spaces, particularly on marine and aquatic environments. These campaigns must also raise awareness of the effects on sewage systems of disposing of wipes waste incorrectly.
• €2.5m to information campaigns on the availability of reusable alternatives, within the meaning of Directive 2019/904 (the Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD)), and of reuse systems. 

Local authority information campaigns 

The PRO pays support amounting to €0.15 per inhabitant to local authorities that implement information and awareness-raising campaigns.  
The purpose of these campaigns is to prevent wipes waste and to inform the public of the availability of reusable alternatives and reuse systems. 

French regulations    

• Specifications: Order of 20 December 2024
• Accreditation of the CITEO Soin & Hygiène producer responsibility organisation: Order of 30 June 2025
• Definition of the scope of the scheme: Decree no. 2024-1166 of 5 December 2024
• Legislation establishing the scheme: Article L541-10-1 of the Environmental Code
   

European Union regulations 

• Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment: Directive 2019-904 of 5 June 2019  
  The directive requires the application of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to pre-wetted personal care and domestic wipes. 

The producer responsibility organisation contributes to the prevention and management of wipes waste on behalf of the producers that have appointed it to meet their obligation.

It contributes to reducing the quantity of wipes placed on the market and to the costs of clean-up operations carried out by local authorities.

It helps companies develop products with better environmental credentials through ecodesign and the emergence of alternative products.

It undertakes local and national information and awareness-raising campaigns to encourage the prevention and appropriate management of wipes waste.