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The French government has postponed a ban on plastic throwaway cups by four years. They delayed it because of difficulties finding alternatives.
The ban was meant to start on January 1.
But the government pushed the deadline back because companies are not ready to stop using plastic in cups.
A new review will be carried out in 2028 to understand the progress in replacing single-use plastic cups.
In an official decree, the government said the ban would now start on January 1, 2030. Companies would have 12 months to get rid of their stock.
France has gradually rolled out bans on single-use plastic products over the past decade. Environmental experts have been warning about plastic’s impact on rivers and oceans.
Plastic debris is common in the ocean. It takes a long time to break down – some last for hundreds of years (see graphic).
A 2020 law set a deadline of 2040 to get rid of all single-use plastics. A ban on plastic bags for less than 1.5kg of 30 fruit and vegetables was introduced in 2022. This has changed people’s habits while shopping at the supermarket.
In a report released last year, the government’s consumer protection agency said it checked nearly 100 companies in 2023. It found that almost a fifth of them were breaking the laws on the production or use of single-use plastic items.
Some companies claimed their products were “plastic-free” even though they still used plastic. Some even renamed their items to try to get around the ban.
