France supports recycled plastic

As part of a pledge to use only recycled plastic nationwide by 2025, France introduced a penalty system in 2019 that increases the cost of goods that use non-recycled plastic packaging. Under the new plan, products with recycled plastic packaging will cost up to 10% less than their non-recycled counterparts. France has already outlawed single-use shopping bags in supermarkets in an effort to encourage shoppers to use their own bags. The government also intends to increase taxes on burying waste in landfills, whilst at the same time cutting taxes for recycling operations. They say that this will mitigate the problem of plastic finding its way into the sea – some of which comes from landfill operations. In a positive move by business leaders, the giant French supermarket chains, Carrefour and Leclerc, are set to stop selling plastic straws.