As part of the AGEC law, the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme for the construction sector has been in force since 1st January 2023 for waste collection centres and since 1st May for retailers. The aim is to develop waste sorting, recycling and re-use, and reduce illegal dumping.
The new regulations involve the payment of an eco-contribution and the collection points at retailers’ premises alongside professional waste collection centres. These collection points were due to be set up on 2nd May. However, given the current problems in the sector, the French Ministry of Ecological Transition postponed the deadline to 31st December 2023.
What products are concerned?
Category 1: inert materials and products (mineral products such as lime, stone, bricks, tiles…).
Category 2: other building materials and products, such as fencing, piping, chemical products (mortars, coatings, paints, varnishes and resins), glazed joinery, plaster, plastic, bituminous membranes, glass wool, rock wool, bio-sourced products (excluding wood).
Find the full list of products here
Retailers and eco-organisations working together
To help construction companies manage their waste, the government has approved 4 eco-organisations specialising in certain product categories. Funded by eco-taxes, their role is to organise the free collection and recovery of sorted waste. This includes private label products from D.I.Y. and retail chains, as well as national brand products.
“Every time a manufacturer, importer or retailer puts a product on the market, it pays an eco-contribution to Valobat. This eco-contribution is used to develop the entire collection, treatment and recycling chain for waste from the product in question”, explains Rami Jabbour, Marketing and Communications Director at Valobat, one of the four eco-organisations specialising in the Building Products and Materials (BPM) sector.