What is the French AGEC legislation?

helmut.minor • 9. Dezember 2023

A short overview.

Legislation n° 2020-105 of the 10^th February 2020 relating to the fight against waste and the circular economy (AGEC) aims at the ecological transition of France into a circular economy. The application of the AGEC law is laid out in various decrees and orders. In the following we highlight the main articles of the AGEC.

Article 13 of AGEC: Consumer information on environmental qualities and characteristics

The consumer shall be informed about a specific set of environmental criteria of the products that he is using. These criteria span from repairability and durability over recycled materials down to the traceability and presence of micro plastics. The obligations are rolled out within the next two years. The application is specified per industry and company size (see also https://www.envenance-global.com/agec-decree-2022-748-france-s-environmental-labeling-regulation)

1^st January 2023
Annual turnover 50 million € and 25.000 units put onto the French market p.a.

1^st January 2024
Annual turnover 20 million € and 10.000 units put onto the French market p.a.

1^st January 2025
Annual turnover 10 million € and 10.000 units put onto the French market p.a.

Article 17 of AGEC: Consumer education upon sorting of waste (Triman)

Decree n°2021-835 implements the labelling of household goods with the Triman label. This label is a mandatory requirement since the 1^st February 2023.

Article 35 of AGEC: Prohibition to destruct unsold stock

Since the 1^st January 2022, it is forbidden to sell new unsold non-food stock. This prohibition relates to producers, importers and distributors.

Article 62 of AGEC: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)

Since the 1^st January 2022 a unique identification number (UIN) is applied per EPR sector and has to be displayed on invoices, web pages and the terms and conditions of companies in scope.

Article 72 of AGEC: Waste prevention and eco-design plan

The “Plan de Prévention” as stipulated in Article 72 of the AGEC legislation requires all companies that are in scope of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) principle to provide a documentation of a sustainable production strategy related to the goods that they make available on the French market. The templates are provided by the collective schemes of each EPR sector and are to be handed in to those schemes.

Penalties in France are generally regulated by the Code pénal. The AGEC legislation, however, determines the penalties in Article L 541-9-6-1 and cascades per case. According to this approach, fines can range up to 20.000 € per day (https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/article_jo/JORFARTI000041553826

Sources:

https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/loda/article_lc/LEGIARTI000041554720

https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/loi-anti-gaspillage-economie-circulaire

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