Three years after the vote on the Anti-waste and Circular Economy Act (AGEC Act), and one year after the entry into force of the “Anti-waste” section, it is time for the first assessment… which is rather contrasting.
In a press release posted online on 10 February 2023, the Ministry of Ecological Transition notes the positive aspects of the AGEC law, and in particular the measures that are already applicable, among which several directly affect the cosmetics sector, such as: • The deployment of a new info-sorting system, which has been gradually rolled out since the summer of 2022 (but which has just been called into question by the European Commission)
• The generalisation of the collection of plastic packaging in the yellow bin,
• The obligation for manufacturers to put online detailed information on the environmental characteristics of products (rate of recycled material and recyclability, presence of hazardous substances, etc.),
• A ban on the disposal of unsold non-food products, particularly hygiene products…
On this last point, the Ministry recalls that “the disposal of unsold products has been prohibited since 1 January 2022. Manufacturers and distributors must now donate or recycle their unsold products.”
But on the ground, things seem much less simple…
A poorly known and poorly applied law…
According to a study by Comerso (a digital and logistical platform that supports companies in the recovery of their unsold goods and waste) commissioned from …