Titre
En savoir plus
What is an EPR scheme?
Do you come under an EPR scheme?
How do you meet your obligations as a producer?
The 2020 AGEC Law, a turning point for EPR schemes
The Anti-Waste Act for a Circular Economy, the so-called ‘AGEC Law’, profoundly transformed the way in which products and waste are managed in France. By stepping up producers’ responsibility and promoting the circular economy, it gave the EPR schemes fresh impetus.
1. Creation of new schemes
Complementing the twelve long-standing EPR schemes, several more have been created: tobacco, building products, home improvement and gardening, toys, lubricants, sport and recreation, professional packaging, and sanitary textiles.
For further information, see article 62 of the AGEC Law.
3. An ecodesign obligation for producers
Primes et pénalités
La majorité des filières utilisent maintenant des primes et pénalités pour moduler l'éco-contribution. Celles-ci sont axées sur l’ensemble du cycle de vie du produit, incluant la réparabilité, la durabilité, l’emploi de ressources renouvelables, etc. Les modulations sont beaucoup plus significatives : une prime peut annuler l'éco-contribution tout comme une pénalité peut doubler le montant d'une éco-contribution.
En savoir plus sur les primes et pénalités
Plan de prévention
Producers are required to draw up a prevention and ecodesign action plan for their products every five years in order to increase the quantities of recycled materials they contain and make them more recyclable. A producer may receive support from its PRO to implement its action plan, but it alone remains responsible its implementation.
For further information, see article 27 of the AGEC Law.
4. Destroying unsold products is prohibited
To combat wastage, it is now prohibited to dispose of unsold non-food products (through landfill or incineration).
For further information, see article 35 of the AGEC Law.
5. Funds to support reuse and repair
Some EPR schemes offer incentives, often in the form of dedicated funds, to develop the reuse and repair of products.
The producers finance these funds through the EPR fees they pay to their PRO or via their individual compliance scheme. The PROs and individual schemes are then tasked with allocating and managing these funds. The conditions for allocation are determined by Decree no. 2020-1455 of 27 November 2020.
Le fonds réemploi
The objective of this fund is to support the social and solidarity economy (SSE) actors who give a second life to products. In doing so, this measure creates jobs, encourages integration and drives the green transition.
The PROs and individual systems within the schemes concerned are required to allocate at least 5% of the EPR fees they collect to this fund.
The repair fund
The objective of this fund is to reduce the cost of repairs (outside the warranty) for consumers when they take their products to repairers approved by the PRO. This fund hence encourages consumers to have their products repaired rather than replacing them with new ones.
6. Strict monitoring of each EPR scheme
Tighter State supervision
The EU directive on waste stipulates that EPR schemes must come under greater scrutiny. In application of this directive, article 76 of the AGEC Law created a body dedicated to monitoring and observing EPR schemes, which has been placed in the hands of ADEME: the EPR Supervision Department (DSREP).
The DSREP ensures that the EPR schemes operate correctly and evaluates their progress towards the targets set by the State.
Find out more about our missions
Monitoring financed by the producers
The costs incurred by the DSREP in undertaking this supervision are funded by an annual levy, paid by the producers or their PROs. The amount of the levy is defined each year by a ministerial order, to cover the expenditure involved in monitoring and assessing the schemes and in making data available.
For more detailed information on these costs, consult Decree no. 2020-1455
Annual submission of data to ADEME
The PROs and individual compliance schemes send their data to ADEME in accordance with the order of 8 October 2024. This data covers aspects such as products placed on the market, collected, recycled, reused, repaired, treated, etc.
Transparent data disclosure
This data is then analysed and made available to everyone in open data format. As the EPR Supervision Department, we are required to disclose the annual data from each EPR scheme for each PRO and each individual compliance scheme. We also publish the data in the form of dashboards, infographics and an analysis written up in an annual report.
