France drops mandatory bottle deposit, opts for voluntary local schemes amid 58% collection gap

FRANCE – France has abandoned plans for a mandatory national deposit-return system for plastic bottles, instead allowing towns and cities to set up voluntary schemes following a three-month consultation with municipalities, beverage companies and recycling operators.

The decision, announced by the Ministry of Ecological Transition on 4 September 2026, reflects strong opposition from local authorities who argued that a mandatory system would remove valuable PET and aluminium from municipal recycling streams, undermining investments already made in sorting infrastructure. 

Under the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, member states must achieve a 90 percent separate collection rate for single-use plastic beverage bottles by 2029. 

France currently collects 58 percent of its plastic beverage bottles annually, with significant regional disparities, collection rates reach 77 percent in some intermunicipal areas but fall to approximately 35 percent in others.

Local Authority Resistance and Regional Disparities Drive Policy Reversal

The decision followed intense pushback from municipalities, with representatives walking out of a ministry meeting in late June 2025, labelling the proposal “absurd” and accusing the government of greenwashing. 

Corentin Duprey, president of Syctom, one of Paris’s main waste management entities, argued that the German example often cited as a reference had not prevented an increase in plastic production. 

The French government concluded that a uniform national programme could disrupt communities that have already invested heavily in collection and sorting systems, while failing to address the specific challenges of low-performing urban areas. 

The new territorial approach will instead target areas with poor collection performance, allowing municipalities to adopt deposit systems voluntarily.

EU 90% Collection Target Looms as Portugal’s Volta System Faces Early Hurdles

Despite the reversal, France remains under pressure to meet the EU’s 90 percent collection target by 2029, with the government planning additional discussions on voluntary programmes and other measures. 

The decision contrasts with Portugal’s strategy, which launched its national Volta deposit system in April 2026 covering plastic bottles and cans up to three litres with a €0.10 deposit.

While Portugal reported 100 million containers returned by July 2026, representing a 38 percent collection rate, the system has faced challenges including bins being rummaged and waste scattered on streets. 

Shares of reverse vending machine manufacturer Tomra Systems ASA fell more than 6 percent on the news, reflecting concerns that other governments might choose voluntary or less standardised collection programmes.

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