France is running a pilot scheme of giving cash deposits to consumers who return their glass bottles or jars for recycling – with the hope that it will be rolled out nationwide.
Readers of a certain age will probably remember handing empty bottles back at the shop and getting cash in exchange.
The schemes, once common, have now largely fallen out of use – but France has begun a pilot scheme in four regions with the intention of bringing the system back in order to boost the country’s recycling rates.
The scheme will allow customers to return glass bottles and jars to participating shops, and get between 10 and 20 centimes per bottle. The scheme will exist alongside the existing system of glass recycling, in which municipalities provide separate containers for glass recycling – either on the street or in a designated area of a village.
How will the scheme work?
Glass containers which can be returned for consigne (deposit), will have a small purple and yellow sticker saying Rapportez-moi pour réemploi (return me for re-use).
These can be brought to any of the participating stores – Système U, Carrefour, Intermarché, Monoprix, Biocoop, Leclerc, Brasserie du Bout du Monde and Auchan.
Independent vineyards and breweries are also signing up for the scheme.
The consumer will then get 10 centimes for every small bottle or jar they return, or 20 centimes for a larger container. The extra money will be added onto the price of the item on the shelves.
Bottles and jars can be returned to any of the participating stores – they do not have to be the one where the item was purchased – and no proof of purchase is needed.
Where and where is it?
The pilot scheme began on June 12th and will run in four regions in the north and east of the country – Brittany, Normandy, Pays-de-la-Loire and Hauts-de-France. It will run for 18 months and, if successful, will then be expanded to the rest of the country.
What about existing schemes?
Lots of independent producers already run their own deposit and return systems – these will continue to exist in addition to the more general pilot.
The intention is not to replace local scheme, but to generalise the deposits and allows people to use the big supermarket chains.
The standard glass recycling facilities will also remain in place.
Although recycling is organised by local authorities, meaning that rules change from place to place, in most of France glass cannot be included with kerbside recycling of paper, cardboard and tins.
