Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed. This famous maxim, attributed to a Greek philosopher, describes the perpetual cycle of life. It must now be applied in a very prosaic way to our daily lives. What we call the circular economy, as opposed to the linear economy that prevailed until then – produce, consume and throw away. The French anti-waste law for a circular economy (Agec) enshrines this ambition with a view to meeting our environmental commitments. As a basic principle, the “polluter pays” – the companies that manufacture and distribute products – must take responsibility for the associated waste.
In addition to its obvious ecological interest, the circular economy constitutes a response to current geopolitical tensions. “In a context of economic war between the West and Russia and decoupling with China, reducing our consumption of resources allows us to depend less on other countries,” recalls Raphaël Guastavi, specialist in this issue at the Agency of environment and energy management (Ademe). Reusing and recycling resources makes it possible to avoid imports.
The Agec law constitutes a first step
France is beginning to take stock of what is at stake. The Agec and climate laws have given rise to first (and timid) actions. This summer, the government announced the creation of a bonus for consumers who have their pants, shirts and other shoes repaired. They will receive, for example, 7 euros per stub. To fight against planned obsolescence, the executive created a repairability index which rates the possibility of repairing a product out of 10 – smartphone, washing machine, vacuum cleaner, etc.. Fast food restaurants must now serve meals in reusable tableware. Toy stores larger than 400 square meters must collect used products. French legislation is progressing, to the point of inspiring certain European directives. “I don’t know of any other country that has adopted a law on the circular economy like Agec. We can become a laboratory in this area,” Raphaël Guastavi wants to believe.
To achieve this, France will be able to rely on a large ecosystem ranging from start-ups to large groups including research centers. Distributors like Darty and Boulanger are starting to fill their shelves with reconditioned machines, and are launching subscriptions to cover all types of repairs, with no time limit. Industrial SMEs are positioning themselves in the recycling niche, such as Veka in PVC in Thonon-les-Bains, the glass washing specialist Bout’à Bout, based in Nantes, or the French subsidiary of Eastman in Normandy, dedicated to molecular recycling. The young shoots of French Tech are making their contribution. You can buy a refurbished smartphone on Back Market or have your defective washing machine replaced thanks to the start-up Murfy. Even influencers are getting in on the action. With her 6 million followers, Marie Lopez, aka EnjoyPhoenix, extols the merits of reasoned consumption. She set up an eco-responsible online store, Leaves & Cloudwhich uses reusable packaging.
But the daily lives of the French change little
While these initiatives remain welcome, we are far from the big bang. Consumers’ daily lives have barely changed. “We continue to throw away smartphones rather than repair them. Consumption of single-use products remains very high, particularly in the area of food packaging,” laments Charlotte Soulary of the Zero Waste France association. Many households do not sort. The project to implement a deposit on reusable packaging, long requested by NGOs, has been postponed. Worse, the volume of waste, which had been declining for a decade, began to increase again in 2021 thanks to the pandemic and all-plastic. “The ‘world after’ fizzled out. We witnessed a consumer fair after confinement, even causing shortages of certain materials,” recalls Raphaël Guastavi.
It must be said that political and economic resistance is strong. Published in June, the decree which prohibits the plastic packaging of fruits and vegetables thus includes… 29 exceptions. But it’s the approach as a whole that leaves something to be desired. Efforts focus on recycling, “but the circular economy is divided into three axes: reduce, reuse and only then, lastly, recycle”, insists Charlotte Soulary.
Textiles is undoubtedly the industry that best illustrates the dichotomy between companies that try to evolve and those that don’t. Manufacturers are striving to create a sustainable fashion industry with eco-designed clothing. They come together in collectives like En mode climat. At the same time, “the Chinese brand Shein is deploying an aggressive marketing strategy by launching thousands of new models every day on its site,” notes Charlotte Soulary. The old and the new world.
Many logistical obstacles
Progress seems particularly slow in construction, which alone represents half of material consumption in France. The levy of an eco-contribution in the building, planned for early 2022, had to be postponed by a year and a half. “The machine is getting underway, with a few totem projects,” says Alexandre Pavoine, circular economy expert at Cerema. The Grand Paris Express is one of them: the excavated earth must be used as materials for construction sites in Ile-de-France. But the obstacles, particularly logistical, remain numerous. Recent initiatives remain too timid, but the government deserves credit for having set a course.
Will the circular economy eventually prevail? Ademe has developed 4 prospective scenarios for the ecological transition by 2050. The second is largely based on the circular economy. It predicts that 80% of steel, aluminum, glass and plastics will come from recycling. Manufacturers will focus on eco-design in order to consume as little material as possible. They will collect and treat all products at the end of their life. Unnecessary packaging, such as embellishment, will be removed. Smartphones will all become repairable, with the possibility of ordering spare parts. Construction companies will be able to buy and sell construction site waste between themselves, via online marketplaces, in order to give it a second life. But for this dream to become a reality, our mentalities will above all need to change. Rent rather than own, repair rather than throw away: the circular economy plays out above all in our behavior.