The French AGEC Law and Packaging: Obligations, Dates and How It Meets the PPWR

The AGEC law (loi n° 2020-105 du 10 février 2020, France's anti-waste and circular economy law) has been in force since 12 February 2020 and now sits mainly in Articles L. 541-1 to L. 541-15-10 of the Environmental Code (Code de l'environnement). For packaging, it sets the goal of ending single-use plastic packaging by 2040, a reuse trajectory of 5 % in 2023 and 10 % in 2027, single-use plastic bans, recyclability duties and the French EPR framework.

Beside these national rules, the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) applies directly in France since 12 August 2026. This page maps the AGEC packaging articles to the Code, sets out each duty with its date and compares it with the PPWR rule that now applies beside it.

Compiled by the PackagingRegulation.org Editorial Team from the Regulation's text on EUR-Lex, Légifrance and the cited official sources; see our methodology and fact-checking. As of 24 October 2026.

The eight key facts below summarise the AGEC packaging rules as of 24 October 2026.

What Is the AGEC Law?

The AGEC law is French loi n° 2020-105 of 10 February 2020 on the fight against waste and on the circular economy (relative à la lutte contre le gaspillage et à l'économie circulaire), published in the Journal officiel on 11 February 2020 and in force since the following day. The law contains no entry-into-force clause of its own, so it took effect on 12 February 2020, the day after publication, under Article 1 of the Civil Code. It is also called the loi anti-gaspillage or the French anti-waste law.

The AGEC packaging provisions amended the Environmental Code rather than standing as a separate text, so each rule now applies through a Code article in its version as amended since 2020. The law also covers products other than packaging; this page covers its packaging provisions only.

Which AGEC articles concern packaging?

Eight AGEC articles carry the packaging rules, and five of them are cited here with the Code article that now holds the rule. The table maps law articles to Code articles.

Article 17 is the legal source of the Triman rule, and Article 62 is the source of the IDU and the marketplace rule.

What Does the AGEC Law Require for Packaging?

For packaging, the AGEC law sets a 2040 goal to end single-use plastic packaging, a reuse trajectory with a minimum reuse share, single-use plastic bans, and recyclability and recycled content duties. The four duty groups follow the Code order below, each with its Code article and its own date. Which of them address a company directly? The 2040 goal and the reuse trajectory are national objectives, while the minimum reuse share, the on-site tableware rule and the recyclability justification address producers or restaurants.

The 2040 goal to end single-use plastic packaging

Article L. 541-10-17 of the Environmental Code, inserted by Article 7 of the AGEC law, sets the objective of ending the placing on the market of single-use plastic packaging by 2040. The goal is a national objective in the Code and not a format ban that applies to a given product today. It is pursued through successive implementing decrees, which this page does not quantify. The EU rule is narrower and dated: from 1 January 2030, Article 25(1) of the PPWR restricts six single-use packaging formats listed in Annex V, which are compared with the French rules further down.

Reuse: the national trajectory and the minimum reuse share

Article L. 541-1 of the Environmental Code, as amended by Article 9 of the AGEC law, sets a national trajectory for reused packaging of 5 % of packaging placed on the market in 2023 and 10 % in 2027, counted in sales units. The trajectory is a national objective in Article L. 541-1, I, 1°, set out year by year for the whole French market.

The duty for producers comes from décret n° 2022-507 of 8 April 2022, in force since 9 April 2022, which sets a minimum share of reused or reusable packaging in Articles R. 541-351 to R. 541-354 and D. 541-352 of the Environmental Code. The minimum share applies to producers placing at least 10,000 units of packaged products on the market each year (R. 541-351), and its penalty provisions sit in Articles R. 541-336 and R. 541-343. The EU PPWR reuse targets for transport, grouped and beverage packaging apply from 1 January 2030.

Which single-use plastic bans does the AGEC framework set?

Article L. 541-15-10 of the Environmental Code holds France's single-use plastic bans and, since 1 January 2023, requires reusable tableware for meals and drinks consumed on site in restaurants (L. 541-15-10, III). The tableware rule sits in section III of the article, beside the fresh-produce rule covered in the next question.

L. 541-15-10 has changed since 2020. Article 37 of loi n° 2025-391 of 30 April 2025 (DDADUE 2025) deleted from L. 541-15-10 the ban on non-recyclable polystyrene packaging that had been set for 2025. As of 24 October 2026, L. 541-15-10 stands as last amended by that Article 37 and no longer contains the polystyrene ban.

Is plastic packaging of fresh fruit and vegetables banned in France?

Not under the 2023 decree: L. 541-15-10 targets plastic packaging of unprocessed fresh fruit and vegetables sold in lots under 1.5 kg, but the Conseil d'État annulled implementing décret n° 2023-478 on 8 November 2024 (no. 475669). The court annulled the decree of 20 June 2023 for breach of the standstill duty in Articles 5 and 6 of Directive (EU) 2015/1535, the technical-rules notification procedure. Annex V, point 2 of the PPWR covers single-use plastic packaging for less than 1.5 kg of pre-packed fresh fruit and vegetables, with exemptions possible for Member States. Article 70(4) of the PPWR lets a Member State keep a national restriction on point 2 formats until 1 January 2030. From 1 January 2030 the six PPWR banned packaging formats of Annex V apply in France as in every Member State.

Recyclability and recycled content duties

Article L. 541-9 of the Environmental Code allows decrees on minimum recycled content and requires producers placing at least 10,000 units a year with turnover above EUR 10 million to justify recyclability from 1 January 2030 (L. 541-9, IV). The article was last amended by Article 4 of loi n° 2026-602. One recycled content decree already applies to bottles: Article D. 543-45-2 of the Environmental Code requires 25 % recycled plastic in PET bottles. The EU value for single-use plastic beverage bottles is higher and set out in the comparison table below.

Which EPR Rules Did the AGEC Law Set for Packaging Producers?

Article 62 of the AGEC law rebuilt the French EPR (REP) framework: every producer under REP needs a unique identifier (IDU) from ADEME's SYDEREP register, mandatory since 1 January 2022 (L. 541-10-13). The IDU appears in the general terms of sale or another contractual document (R. 541-173), and sellers give buyers their supplier's IDU on request (L. 541-10-10). SYDEREP is a register operated by ADEME, not a producer responsibility organisation (éco-organisme). An online marketplace is the producer for third-party sales unless it holds proof of the seller's IDU (L. 541-10-9).

Professional packaging forms a second EPR stream beside household packaging. Its texts, including décret n° 2025-1081, have been in force since 1 January 2026, and its operational start is 1 January 2027, as announced by the ministry.

Must Household Packaging Carry the Triman Logo under the AGEC Law?

Yes, as of 24 October 2026: Article 17 of the AGEC law inserted Article L. 541-9-3 into the Environmental Code, and household products under REP, except household glass beverage packaging, have carried the Triman logo and Info-tri sorting instructions since 1 January 2022 (décret n° 2021-835). The Commission challenges the rule in Case C-249/26 Commission v France, brought on 26 March 2026 and pending. Logo design, Info-tri content and the EU transition are explained under Triman and Info-tri sorting label rules.

What Are the AGEC Packaging Dates?

The AGEC packaging rules run from 12 February 2020 to the 2040 single-use plastic goal, with national steps in 2027 and the EU format restrictions from 1 January 2030. The twelve dates are listed in chronological order below.

The EU dates in this table are part of the PPWR timeline of application dates.

How Does the AGEC Law Meet the PPWR?

The PPWR applies directly in France since 12 August 2026, and the AGEC rules now operate beside an EU regulation that sets its own packaging requirements and limits what national law may add. Under Article 4(2) of the PPWR, Member States may not prohibit, restrict or impede the placing on the market of packaging that complies with Articles 5 to 12. Under Article 4(3), national sustainability requirements or extra information requirements must not conflict with the Regulation and cannot block compliant packaging.

The Commission's guidance, Commission Notice C/2026/3084 (OJ C, 10.6.2026), is non-binding and states that national rules anticipating EU harmonised rules breach Article 4(3) TEU and Article 288 TFEU. One exception is written into the Regulation: Article 70(4) lets national restrictions on Annex V, points 2 and 3 formats stay until 1 January 2030. The French competent authority for the PPWR is the Direction générale de la prévention des risques (DGPR) of the Ministère de la Transition écologique, as named by French customs on 10 August 2026. The table sets nine French rules beside the PPWR rule on the same topic.

The Notice also covers labelling: it reads Article 12 of the PPWR as exhaustive and fully harmonised (except for deposit and return system labels) and states that national labels may not be kept next to EU labels after 12 August 2028 or 24 months after the Article 12 implementing act, whichever is later. As of 24 October 2026 Triman remains mandatory in France, and the harmonised sorting label applies from 12 August 2028 at the earliest; see the PPWR labelling requirements.

Has France adopted a PPWR adaptation law?

No: as of 24 October 2026 the government bill DDADUE 2026, whose Article 48 concerns French packaging law and Regulation (EU) 2025/40, was adopted by the Senate on 18 February 2026 (T.A. n° 63) and is at committee stage in the Assemblée nationale (texte n° 2518, deposited 20 February 2026). The bill is at first reading and has had no plenary vote in the Assemblée nationale, so it is not law. Until a national implementing or adaptation act is adopted, the AGEC provisions apply as codified in the Environmental Code, beside the directly applicable PPWR.

How Does the AGEC Law Relate to Other French Packaging Rules and EU Law?

The AGEC law sets France's national packaging goals, while the producer register, the approved producer responsibility organisations, the competent authority and the penalties sit in the wider French EPR rules. Register, approved organisations, authority and penalties are set out in PPWR in France.

Professional packaging has its own stream and approved organisations. The professional stream is covered under REP emballages professionnels (EPRO).

National packaging laws differ from state to state beside the same Regulation. Other national packaging laws are compared for the PPWR in the 27 member states.

The AGEC law also covers products other than packaging, which this site does not cover. French and EU rules on environmental claims are covered on greenwashingdirective.com.

Is the AGEC law still in force after 12 August 2026?

Yes: loi n° 2020-105 remains in force as amended, while the PPWR has applied directly since 12 August 2026 and Article 4(2) of the PPWR bars national rules that prohibit, restrict or impede compliant packaging. The free-movement rule is in Article 4 in the PPWR legal text.

Where is the official text of the AGEC law?

The official text of loi n° 2020-105 is published on Légifrance, the French government's legal portal, both as the original Journal officiel version and through the consolidated Environmental Code articles it amended. The Journal officiel version is at Légifrance, JORFTEXT000041553759, and the codified rules are mainly in Articles L. 541-1 to L. 541-15-10.