Glass deposit returns to four northwest regions from June 12

It's a practice that had disappeared since the 1980s . More than 40 years later, the glass deposit is making a comeback . A large-scale experiment will be launched in the northwest of France on June 12, with a deposit amount set at "ten cents for small packages, 20 cents for larger formats," announced Citeo this Thursday, the organization that coordinates the collection and sorting of household packaging waste. Four regions will be affected by this good old method: Pays-de-la-Loire, Brittany, Normandy, and Hauts-de-France.

The experiment, conducted over 18 months, concerns "16 million inhabitants potentially." The gradual deployment should lead to the marketing of 55 million packages in 750 stores, hopes Valentin Fournel, director of innovation, eco-design and reuse at Citeo. He expects 30 million packages by 2025 and the remainder by 2026.

The deposit fee "will be clearly indicated on the product price each time," he assured. The packaging will feature a small purple label that says "bring me back for reuse," and for some packaging, a purple banner that says "get your deposit back by returning this packaging."

The consumer will then return their packaging to any store participating in the operation, which "will obviously allow them to recover their initial deposit amount and return the packaging so that it can be collected, washed and put back into circulation," recalled Valentin Fournel.

Hundreds of packaging recovery machines are currently being installed in stores in this large northwest quarter of France, for gradual implementation throughout the summer.

Eight retailers are involved in the initiative: Système U, one of whose stores will host the official launch near Nantes on June 12, as well as Carrefour, Intermarché, Monoprix, Biocoop, Leclerc, Brasserie du Bout du Monde, and Auchan. More than 50 manufacturers, including many brewers, are also involved in this operation.

The objective set by the Agec law on the circular economy was 10% of packaging reused by 2027, with an intermediate objective of 5% for 2023, a target on which France is lagging behind.