Towards Osaka Blue Ocean Vision - G20 Implementation Framework for Actions on Marine Plastic Litter

France

Actions and Progress on Marine Plastic Litter
Last Update : 2025/10/09

Policy Framework

National Action Plan

Name (Year):
● Action Plan for the Marine Environment (Marine Strategy Framework Directive – MSFD)

Brief Description:
The MSFD aims at protecting more effectively the marine environment across Europe by achieving the good environmental status of the EU marine waters. The comprehensive document identifies the main pressures such as marine litter. EU member States have drawn up a program of measures to attain good environmental status. The first cycle of the program closed in 2021, the second cycle is now being applied.


Name (Year):
● Biodiversity Plan: Target - “0 plastic reaching the sea in 2025”

Brief Description:
The biodiversity plan has been published in 2018. It sets up the national strategy to protect biodiversity. It tackles multiple aspects of the national environmental policy such as climate adaptation and plastic reduction.

Name (Year):
● National Roadmap against Marine Litter “0 plastic reaching the sea 2019-2025”

Brief Description:
The objective of this roadmap is ambitious: ending the dumping of plastic waste at sea by 2025 by implementing 35 actions aiming at preventing plastic pollution and raising awareness. This national roadmap translates the biodiversity plan into concrete actions. Work is currently underway to update the actions in this roadmap.

Name (Year):
● National Roadmap for a Circular Economy
(https://circulareconomy.europa.eu/platform/fr/node/783)

Brief Description:
It aims at achieving a transition towards a circular economy by providing national citizens with the means to adopt a more sustainable consumption and make progress in waste separation.

Name (Year):
● National “3R” Strategy on Single-use Plastic Packaging

Brief Description:
This strategy has been adopted by decree on April 2022 and defines actions and measures to implement the 3R objectives for 2025 as specified by the “3R” Decree for reduction, reuse and recycling of single use plastic packaging for 2021-2025; and presents a vision for reaching the goal to eliminate all single use plastic packaging by 2040. The 2026-2030 strategy defining the sectoral measures to be implemented are currently being developed.

Legal Framework

Name (Year):
● The Legislation for Energy Transition for Green Growth (2015)

Brief Description:
The legislation for energy transition for green growth (2015) set up the prohibition of non-compostable plastic bags for 2017 and progressively extended recycling to all plastic packaging by 2022.

Name (Year):
● The Legislation for Reclaiming Biodiversity, Nature and Landscapes Law (2016)

Brief Description:
The legislation for Reclaiming biodiversity, nature and landscapes law (2016) has set up a ban for microbeads in cosmetics for 2018 and a ban for cotton-buds in 2020.

Name (Year):
● The Legislation for Trade Relations Balance in the Agricultural Sector and Healthy and Sustainable Diet (EGAlim, 2018)

Brief Description:
The legislation for trade relations balance in the agricultural sector and healthy and sustainable diet (EGAlim, 2018) has planned a ban on plastic stirrers and straws in 2020, and a ban of food containers in collective catering for 2025.

Name (Year):
● The Legislation Against Waste and for a Circular Economy (2020)

Brief Description:
The legislation against waste and for a circular economy (2020) has defined a goal of zero single-use plastic by 2040, with targets for deposits, recycling and reuse. This law is notably based on the principle of extended producer responsibility, according to which producers are responsible for financing or organizing the prevention management and clean-up of waste from their products.

Name (Year):
● “3R” Decree for Reduction, Reuse and Recycling of Single-use Plastic Packaging for 2021-2025 Period

Brief Description:
This executive decree has been adopted in April 2021 in the context of the legislation against waste and for a circular economy, it defines 3R objectives for single-use plastic packaging for the period 2021-2025 which are: reduce, reuse and recycle. The text for the 2026-2030 period is currently being developed.

Name (Year):
● (EU) PPWR – Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation

Brief Description:
The EU PPWR entered into force on 11 February 2025 and its general date of application is 18 months after that.
The rules aim to minimize the quantities of packaging and waste generated while lowering the use of primary raw materials and fostering the transition to a circular, sustainable and competitive economy.

Name (Year):
● EU Regulation on Preventing the Loss of Plastic Pellets

Brief Description:
The provisional agreement will be formally adopted and published in the Official Journal of the EU.

Indicators and/or Targets

■ Plastic Recycling:
Indicators: Proportion of recycled plastic
Targets (if any): 100% recycled plastic by 2025

■ Plastic Use Reduction:
Indicators:
Proportion of reduction for single-use plastic packaging (expressed as tonnages of incorporated plastic / reference year 2018)
Targets (if any):
20% reduction target for single-use plastic packaging by 31st December 2025, taking into account that at least 50% of this target must be achieved through the reuse of packaging.

■ Plastic Leakage:
Indicators:

  1. EU : Number of litter items for 100 meters of beaches
  2. OSPAR : Plastic particles present in fulmar stomachs
  3. In the framework of the Marine Framework Directive environmental objectives have been defined with as target a decrease in the amount of litter found in the marine environment. Concerning the reduction of the input and presence of land-based litter found at sea and on the coastline, the indicator is the quantities of litter of terrestrial origin most represented on the seabed and on the coastline. Relatively to the reduction of the input and the presence of litter at sea from maritime activities, uses and facilities, the indicators are the quantities of the most represented litter from the main maritime activities on the coastline and on the seabed and the quantity of wastes collected in fishing ports from maritime fishing activities.
  4. Proportion of reduction for single-use plastic and maritime items related, on beaches

Targets (if any):

  1. A threshold has been defined at the EU level and it sets a target for good environmental status of a maximum of 20 litter items for 100 meters of beaches.
  2. At OSPAR, an indicator analyses the plastic particles present in fulmar stomachs with the aim of finding no more than 0.1 g of plastics in stomach of less than 10% of fulmars. 2 other indicators concern marine litter on seafloor and the ingestion of litter by sea turtle.
  3. OSPAR contracting parties set the aim to reduce single-use plastics (SUP) and marine related items on beaches by 75% by 2030.
  4. As part of the ministerial meeting of the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic – Vigo (Spain), 26 June, two new measures have also been introduced within the OSPAR Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter: a ban on uncoated polystyrene pontoons and buoys to combat plastic pollution, and the implementation of best practices to reduce marine litter across all sectors. Besides, a decision was adopted on the gradual ban on discharges of wash water from ship exhaust gas scrubbers in coastal waters and ports, with a review scheduled for 2027 to consider extending the ban to territorial waters.

■ Beach Cleanup:
Indicators:
The French Ministry of ecological transition is developing a national charter “Plastic waste-free beaches for eco-exemplary coastal communities”. It enables coastal municipalities to make a commitment to preserving their beaches from plastic pollution, through 15 concrete actions of awareness raising, clean-up and prevention of marine litter on their beaches. It promotes alternatives such as water fountains, or deposit systems, or actions including manual cleaning of beaches. It should be noted that this charter is not mandatory and remains flexible: each municipality carries out as many actions as possible (not mandatory).
 
Targets (if any):
100% of coastal municipalities committed to the charter by 2030.

■ Others
Indicators:

  1. % of reused packaging
  2. % of plastic bottles collected

Targets (if any):

  1. 10% of reused packaging by 2027
  2. 77% of plastic bottles collected by 2025

Brief Description:
▶ Examples of targets for the legislation against waste and for circular economy :

  1. 5% of reused packaging by 2023
  2. 10% of reused packaging by 2027
  3. 50% less single use plastic bottles by 2030
  4. 100% recycled plastic by 2025
  5. 20% reduction target for single-use plastic packaging (expressed as tonnages of incorporated plastic / reference year 2018) by 31st December 2025, taking into account that at least 50% of this target must be achieved through the reuse of packaging.
  6. 77% of plastic bottles collected by 2025

▶ Targets for marine litter reduction :

  1. EU:
    A threshold has been defined at the EU level and it sets a target for good environmental status of a maximum of 20 litter items for 100 meters of beaches.
    In the framework of the Marine Framework Directive environmental objectives have been defined with as target a decrease in the amount of litter found in the marine environment. Concerning the reduction of the input and presence of land-based litter found at sea and on the coastline, the indicator is the quantities of litter of terrestrial origin most represented on the seabed and on the coastline. Relatively to the reduction of the input and the presence of litter at sea from maritime activities, uses and facilities, the indicators are the quantities of the most represented litter from the main maritime activities on the coastline and on the seabed and the quantity of wastes collected in fishing ports from maritime fishing activities.
  2. OSPAR:
    OSPAR contracting parties set the aim to reduce single-use plastics (SUP) and marine related items by 75% by 2030, on beaches. Another indicator analyses the plastic particles present in fulmar stomachs with the aim of finding no more than 0.1 g of plastics in stomach of less than 10% of fulmars.

Technical Standards, Guidelines and Methodologies

Topics: ■ Production / Manufacturing ■ Leakage Monitoring
 
Brief Description:
Leakage Monitoring :
OSPAR guidelines on beach litter monitoring (“Guideline for Monitoring Marine Litter on the Beaches in the OSPAR Maritime Area”)
▶ As part of the National Roadmap against Marine Litter “0 plastic reaching the sea 2019-2025”, a “guideline on the fight against illegal waste dumping and abandonment” was published in 2020, aimed primarily at local authorities.
▶ EU guidelines on the monitoring of marine litter in Europeans Seas (JRC Technical Report 2023)
 
Production / Manufacturing :
▶ Within the framework of the roadmap for circular economy : definition of standard ranges of reusable packaging for the catering sector, as well as for fresh products and drinks;

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Measures

Measures across Value Chain
Actions for encouraging sustainable / circular product design (example: improved durability, reparability, recyclability, reduction of material use per product…etc.) Yes

Specific Measures:
▶ Establishment of a roadmap for circular economy (100% of plastics to be recycled in 2025, with targets for a better collection of plastics, targets for a better recyclability of plastic products, etc).
▶ Introduction of a definition of bulk selling in the national legislation and creation of an obligation for shops with a surface area of more than 400 meters to make reusable containers available to consumers;
▶ Definition of standard ranges of reusable packaging for the catering sector, as well as for fresh products and drinks;
▶ Allocation of at least 5% of the annual packaging extended producer responsibility organization contribution to the development of solutions for the reuse of packaging (implementation in 2022);
▶ Modulation of the financial contributions paid by producers to EPR organizations according to environmental performance criteria, including the possibility of reuse;
▶ Improvement of consumer information on the possibilities of re-use (implementation in 2022); from 2025, a sustainability index will be deployed on two product categories: televisions and washing machines;
▶ Multiple studies have been ordered to research centers. For instance: “Reuse of packaging and alternatives to single-use plastic packaging” or “Development of a methodological framework for comparative LCA of alternatives to single-use plastic packaging”.

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Policy actions for encouraging plastic alternatives, recycled materials at production stage. Yes

Specific Measures:
■ Use of Biodegradable Plastics
■ Use of Recycled Materials
 
Brief Description:
▶ Definition of standard ranges of reusable packaging for the catering sector, as well as for fresh produce and drinks.
▶ Since January 2023, packaging producers have been required to market a minimum proportion of reused packaging annually in France, i.e. 5% in 2023 and 10% in 2027. (Decree no. 2022-507 of April 8, 2022 relating to the minimum proportion of reused packaging to be placed on the market each year)

Steps taken towards restricting microplastics in products. Yes

Specific Measures:
Targeted Products:
■ Cosmetics and Personal Care Products
■ Others (medical devices)
 
Brief Description:

  • 2018: Ban on exfoliating cosmetics or scrubs.
  • 2024: Ban on the sale of medical devices containing microplastics.
  • From January 1, 2026: Ban on the sale of rinsed cosmetics containing microplastics, such as shampoos, hair coloring products, shower gels and make-up removers.
  • REACH regulation in order to prevent microplastics in products : the ban in force for certain cosmetic products is gradually being extended to other cosmetic products, medical devices, detergents, fertilisers, plant protection products and biocides, and synthetic sports pitch granules.

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Reduce single-use plastic (shopping bags, straws etc.) by regulations or voluntary measures (such as ban, levy, others) Yes

■ Regulatory Measures (ex: production ban, Ban on use..etc)
Brief Description:
Progressive ban of some single use plastic products.

  • The legislation for energy transition for green growth (2015) sets up the prohibition of non-compostable plastic bags since 2017;
  • The legislation against waste and for a circular economy progressively forbids the sale and use of certain plastic items, it forbids the single-use plastic items listed in the European directive as well as cotton-bud and microbeads;
  • Rrom January 2021: Ban on straws (except in medical settings), cutlery, stirrers, EPS food containers (for take-away and ready-to-eat food), EPS bottles, plastic-coated paper plates, balloon sticks (except for industrial or professional uses), steak skewers, confetti; ban on the free distribution of water in plastic bottles in establishments receiving members of the public;
  • From January 2022 : ban on plastic packaging for fruit and vegetables except for packages weighing 1.5kg or more; on plastic teabags; on the free distribution of plastic toys (such as by fast-food chains); ban on public procurement of single-use plastics for use in government buildings except where required for health or safety;
  • From January 2023: disposable tableware is banned in restaurants serving more than 20 covers at a time, for everything that is consumed on the premises: meals are now served on washable and reusable tableware.

■ Economic Measures (levy, tax, subsidies…etc.)
Brief Description:
The legislation against waste and for a circular economy creates 11 new EPR schemes and extend existing ones (straws, expanded polystyrene boxes, plastic confettis, etc.).

■ Informational Measures (guideline, standards…etc.)
Brief Description:
Within the framework of the roadmap for circular economy : definition of standard ranges of reusable packaging for the catering sector, as well as for fresh products and drinks;

■ Others
Brief Description:
In 2020, the Ministry has launched the “Beaches without plastic litter”, a voluntary chart in link with local authorities. This chart is composed of 3 categories of actions and plastic prevention is one of them.

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Introduce Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Yes

Specific Measures:

Targeted Products Packaging, single-use sanitary textiles, textile products for clothing, footwear or household linen, tobacco products with filters, synthetic chewing gums,
 
Printed paper, graphic paper, construction products and materials, electrical and electronic equipment (batteries, contents and containers of chemical products), handicraft and garden products, sports and leisure goods, passenger cars, vans, two- and three-wheel motor vehicles and motor quadricycles, tires, mineral or synthetic lubricating or industrial oils, pleasure and sports boats, medicines, puncture-proof medical devices, furnishings, printed paper, graphic paper, construction products and materials
Nature of Responsibility ■ Financial Responsibility
■ Operational Responsibility
■ Collective Producer Responsibility
Modality Mandatory EPR
■ Product Take Back
■ Upstream Tax
■ Drop Off Points 		Voluntary EPR
-
Eco-Modulation

■ Fees Modulated Based on Recyclability of Products
Performance Indicators

-

Brief Description

-

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Improve waste management and recycling system Yes

Specific Measures:
▶ Simplify the sorting process for citizens and extend it to all types of household plastics: Since 2022, the integrality of the population can dispose of all packaging and paper, without exception, in the recycling bin.
▶ Communication through medias on sorting;
▶ Experiment deposit schemes;
▶ Decision to create a new EPR organization for industrial and commercial packaging before 2025, including packaging from the HORECA sector (Decree No. 2023-162 of 7 March 2023 on packaging waste and establishing the extended producer responsibility channel for packaging used to market products consumed or used by professionals involved in catering activities).
▶ The legislation against waste and for a circular economy dictates that the terms of reference of the EPR organizations should include targets for reducing the amount of packaging placed on the market, particularly single-use plastic packaging. Failure to reach these targets is sanctioned (implementation in 2023).

Promoting plastic waste re-use, recycling and recovery opportunities Yes

Specific Measures:
▶ France defined of standard ranges of reusable packaging for the catering sector, as well as for fresh produce and drinks.
▶ Since January 2023, packaging producers have been required to market a minimum proportion of reused packaging annually in France, i.e. 5% in 2023 and 10% in 2027 (Decree no. 2022-507 of April 8, 2022 relating to the minimum proportion of reused packaging to be placed on the market each year).
▶ In 2020, the Ministry of ecological transition launched the basis for an Accelerating Strategy “Recyclability, recycling and reincorporation of materials” in order to support innovation in the private sector. The strategy targets plastic as a priority material.
▶ The ADEME has launched a study to characterise the sources of recoverable waste in France and to identify and analyse the most promising chemical recycling methods for treating these sources.

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Install capturing trap/filter on drainage/river Yes

Specific Measures:
▶ In development- all new washing machines in France will have to include a microfiber filter to stop synthetic clothes from polluting our waterways.
▶ As part of the National Roadmap against Marine Litter “0 plastic reaching the sea 2019-2025”, a number of experiments are underway involving waste traps and nets in water systems, rivers and estuaries.
Conduct clean-up activities in rivers/ wetlands/ beaches/ coasts/ coral reefs/ sea floor, involving local communities involving local communities Yes

Specific Measures:
▶France put in place a citizen science platform on marine litter to identify the clean-up actions that take place, monitor the data and share best practices;
▶France financially supports some clean-up campaign organized by NGOs on beaches and along the coastlines.
▶As part of the national charter “Beaches without plastic waste”. Coastal municipalities are invited to conduct manual clean-up on their beaches, involving local population.
Transposition of the directive 2019/883 of 17/04/19 on port reception facilities for the deposit of ship waste which ask countries to report the quantity of waste accidently fished (fishing for litter : retrieval by fisherman of litter collected accidentally during fishing operations).
▶National plan for the reduction of former coastal landfills, launched in February 2022 with a 30M€ fund over 10 years to rehabilitate these former sites.

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Issue-specific Measures
＜1＞ Abandoned, Lost and Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG)
Taken/to be taken National Level Action and/or Community Level Action on Clean sea initiatives including ghost net retrieval, ocean-bound plastics etc. Yes

Specific Measures:
Fishing for litter (removal from the ocean) : it consists of the retrieval by fishermen of litter collected accidentally during fishing operations. France has transposed the directive 2019/883 of 17/04/19 on port reception facilities for the deposit of ship waste which ask countries to report the quantity of waste accidently fished.

Example of projects specific to fishing gears: GHOSTMED, supported by the Mediterranean Institute of Oceanology, whose aim is to identify lost fishing gear and guide retrieval decisions.

Taken actions for preventing abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) being generated. Yes

Specific Measures:
▶ Identifying new fishing gears that intend to prevent impacts in the marine environment. The INdIGO project (https://indigo-interregproject.eu/) : The aims is to design a prototype of biodegradable fishing gear in the marine environment by involving professionals from the fishing and aquaculture industries.
▶ Implementing awareness raising actions to the benefit of fishing and aquaculture activities.

Created/creating collection/recycling mechanism for ALDFG Yes

Specific Measures:
▶ Implementing the collection and recycling of fishing gears and aquaculture waste in link with the European directive
▶ An EPR system for used plastic fishing gear (01/01/2025)

＜2＞ Port Waste Reception
For waste management in ports, please provide details regarding their solid waste management practices/facilities including:
Whether there is an applicable legal framework Yes

Brief Description:
France has transposed the directive 2019/883 of 17/04/19 on port reception facilities.

The institution(s) responsible for (or playing a central role in, if voluntary action) managing the waste from ships? (example: port management authority, fishers' association...etc.) -
Whether ports possess waste reception facilities/systems to handle solid waste from ships, the volume of waste collected and the percentage of ports with waste reception facilities? -
The handling procedures for each distinct waste stream once onshore. -
Partnership and Innovation
Boost multi-stakeholder involvement and awareness-raising Yes

Specific Measures:

  1. Actions on the seashore and at sea;
    1. Implementation of awareness raising actions to the benefit of fishing and aquaculture activities;
    2. Raise awareness of amateur boaters through the “I sail, I sort” campaign.
  2. Awareness raising actions
    1. Put in place a citizen science platform on marine litter to identify the clean-up actions that take place, monitor the data and share best practices;
    2. Develop awareness raising and actions to inform citizens of the pollution, its impacts and the good practices to have.
  3. Multi-stakeholder involvement
    1. Regular consultation of stakeholders involved in marine litter issues (NGOs, experts, agencies...) through annual meetings.
    2. Implement voluntary commitments of NGOs, major retailers and brand owners (through the “National Pact on plastic packaging”) on prevention measures (elimination of harmful or unnecessary plastic packaging and improved recycled content) accompanied by a monitoring system with pertinent features (transparency, independence, auditable).
Encourage/ Incentivize action by private sector companies to reduce/ sustainably manage their plastic waste. Yes

Specific Measures:
▶ Regular consultation of stakeholders involved in marine litter issues (NGOs, experts, agencies...) through annual meetings.
▶ Implement voluntary commitments of major retailers and brand owners (through the “National Pact on plastic packaging”) on prevention measures (elimination of harmful or unnecessary plastic packaging and improved recycled content) accompanied by a monitoring.
▶ Within the framework of the government's Recovery Plan, more than 200 million euros have been earmarked for the plastics sector over the period 2020-2022 to support companies and local authorities in their efforts to reuse and recycle (ORPLAST is one of them).

Encourage public awareness on MPL issues through formal education system and/or curriculum for Yes

Specific Measures:
▶ In 2020, the Ministry has launched the “Beaches without plastic litter” chart in link with local authorities. This chart is composed of 3 categories of actions and public awareness is one of them.
▶ Raising awareness through education is a commitment that local authorities are to implement. Multiple educational actions are already taking place such as the creation of marine educational areas and organization of collection of marine litter. Development of marine educational area : a small coastal maritime area, managed in a participatory way by the students and teachers of an elementary school, following principles defined by a charter.

Promote innovative solutions through Research & Development (e.g., subsidy program, investment fund etc.) Yes

Specific Measures:
The Ministry of Ecology partners up with national agencies and research centers (such as ADEME, IFREMER and CEDRE) to lead scientific research on marine litter.

Brief Description :

  1. Actions on rivers and waste and rain water
    1. Quantify the litter carried though rivers;
    2. Quantify litter carried through waste water;
    3. Identify the areas where litter accumulates in rivers;
    4. Identify the actions/tools to prevent or recover litter in rivers and waste and rain water and experiment them;
    5. Evaluate the discharge of litter by rain water and elaborate strategies for action;
    6. Define a common methodology to monitor riverine litter and microplastic pollution.
  2. Actions on the seashore and at sea
    1. Monitor litter and microplastics on beach sediments and at sea and in biota (fulmars and turtles);
    2. Determine the areas where litter accumulates at sea and on the coastline and the possibility of actions;
    3. Identify and put in place actions to improve litter collection in ports in link with the European directive.
    4. Measuring the impact of microplastics from WWTPs
    5. Develop models for marine litter / microplastics transport at sea
    6. Development of an indicator of ingestion of litter by sea turtles and implementation of its monitoring
  3. Research
    1. Federate and give better voice to the scientific community;
    2. Launch studies on plastic alternatives that do not impact health and the environment;
    3. Launch studies on the recycling of plastics that have been at sea.

The citizen science platform on marine litter allow research centers to dispose of local datas thanks to the categorization made by collectors.

Monitoring, Data Management, Understanding Flow of Plastics/MPL
Conduct Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of plastic products. What are the challenges if LCA is not conducted? Yes

Brief description :
At the French level, the ADEME reference framework published in 2022 (https://librairie.ademe.fr/dechets-economie-circulaire/5309-cadre-de-reference-acv-comparatives-entre-differentes-solutions-d-emballages.html) proposes a “qualitative” method for assessing the risks of packaging waste leaks into the environment and the potential negative effects on ecosystems.
Conduct Material Flow Analysis (MFA) on plastics. What are the challenges if MFA is not conducted? -
Conduct monitoring / estimation / scientific research on leakage of plastics/microplastics to the natural environment and/or flow of ocean surface.
What are the challenges if these actions are not conducted? 		Yes

■ Established a Monitoring/Reporting Program/mechanism
■ Regularly Conduct Monitoring/Estimation/Scientific Research
 
Scope: ■ Local ■ National ■ Regional ■ International
■ Macro Plastics ■ Microplastics (<5mm) ■ Ocean ■（Others: rivers, soils, air etc.）
Brief Description:

  • Monitoring of macro-litter on beaches, on riverbanks.
  • Monitoring of floating litter / seafloor litter.
International Collaboration
Participate in international cooperation through international organizations, multi-national groups, etc. Yes

Specific Measures:

  1. Participation in regional sea conventions for knowledge and best practices sharing and implementation of action plans;
  2. Participation in international fora, negotiations and guidelines: JRC, UNEP, IMO, UN World Ocean Assessment II, GESAMP, European Technical Group on Marine Litter, Basel convention, OSPAR convention, Barcelona Convention, etc.;
  3. Organization of a workshop to identify the different methodologies to monitor riverine macroplastic pollution in the OSPAR area (regional sea convention);
  4. Promote international cooperation among European willing member states for the exchange of best practice and as an advocacy towards the European Commission to implement facilitating measures (“European Plastics Pact”).
  5. Participation in research projects to improve and standardize methods for sampling and extracting of floating microplastics (JPI Ocean : Andromeda (https://www.andromedaproject.net/)
Support target region by your international cooperation initiatives/projects: South, Central and Southeast Asia Yes

-

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Challenges

■ Recycling System Improvement

■ Lack of Financial Incentives for Technology Development

Specific Challenges:
Nuance: the strategy France 2030 plans to fund 300 million euros to the plastic recycling industry (action: strengthen investment in the recycling chain and incorporation of plastics).

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Best Practices

■ National Level ■ Local/Community Level ■ Private Sector Initiative ■ International Initiative

1. National Level
Description:

  1. The prohibition of single-use plastic items (which are most found in the marine environment) is a good way to develop alternatives, to avoid plastic litter by tackling the pollution at source and to provide citizens with a safer choice of products and develop new habits of consumption. It is also very coherent with a better use of resources and the implementation of a circular economy.
  2. A citizen science platform is very useful to give a clear idea of all the clean-ups that occur and of the quantity (and qualification) of litter collected. Such a platform is a way to share the good guidelines to conduct clean-ups (to preserve biodiversity and the nesting of birds, etc.) and to communicate on this issue and on actions and link the population who wants to get involved to the NGOs already in place.
  3. The Ministry is developing the national charter “Beaches without plastic waste”. Coastal municipalities are invited to sign this charter in order to implement 15 concrete actions of awareness raising, clean-up and prevention of marine litter on their beaches. It is useful to shed a light on good practices, improve communication between municipalities and realize an annual evaluation of the actions.
  4. The extended producer responsibility schemes allows to finance the collection and recycling of certain waste. They can be particularly relevant when certain wastes are most found whose collection can be difficult to put in place.
  5. The 2020 legislation against waste and for a circular economy creates a re-use observatory that will be responsible for assessing the relevance of reuse solutions from an environmental and economic point of view, for defining the national trajectory aiming at increasing the share of reused packaging on the market in relation to single-use packaging. It will also be in charge of supporting, in coordination with eco-organizations, experiments and the deployment of the resources needed to achieve the objectives defined in the terms of reference.
  6. The law of February 10 2020 relative to the fight against waste and the economy circular foresee that sites producing, handling or using plastic pellets, and transport of pellets be endowed of equipment and procedures to prevent the loss and leaks granules of plastics industrial that represent a part microplastics susceptible to be found in the environment. It also foresees setting the implementation of regular inspections by independent-certified organizations, the first audit reports will be published this year (Decree n°2021-461 of 16 April 2021 relative to the prevention of losses of granules of industrial plastics in the environment).

2. Local/Community Level
Description:

  1. An efficient waste management and fight against littering (fine)
  2. Awareness raising: since 2017, some municipalities have been implementing awareness-raising campaigns through the installation of "Here begins the sea" signs near sewer drains, in order to encourage citizens to dispose of their waste in the appropriate facilities and thus prevent litter.
  3. Municipalities have put in place nets to prevent litter from reaching the sea and rivers.
  4. Within the framework of the government's Recovery Plan, more than 200 million euros have been earmarked for the plastics sector over the period 2020-2022 to support companies and local authorities in their efforts to reuse and recycle (ORPLAST is one of them).

3. Private Sector Initiative
Description:

  1. Development of links with the industrial sector: the “National Pact on plastic packaging” allows a commitment from the companies and the implementation of recycling, reusing and reducing plastic packaging targets. Moreover, an exceptional financial support scheme for the sale of recycled materials (to compensate the difference between the price of recycled materials and virgin materials” has been implemented by the ADEME at the end of 2020, enabling 60 projects to be supported. In 2021, the ADEME has also launched the ORPLAST project, a financial scheme aiming at increasing the incorporation of plastic recycling raw materials by plastic manufacturers as a substitute for virgin material by supporting feasibility/test studies and investments (adaptation of equipments, etc…).
  2. The Clean Sweep Operation is an international program for the actors of the plastic industry, and designed to prevent the loss of plastic pellets in the aquatic environment. It provides companies a guide with good practices to follow.

4. International Initiative
Description:

  1. Participation to meetings and working groups (UN, G7, G20, RSC, EU, etc)
  2. France organized in 2017 and 2019 a workshop to share results and methodologies of existing projects analyzing riverine plastic pollution. In 2024, France participated in a workshop on riverine plastic pollution, organized by the regional seas conventions around Europe. Harmonized methodologies are needed for a long-term plastic pollution monitoring in rivers and should help assess measures efficiency. The outputs of this workshop was an exchange of knowledge, improved relations between researchers and NGOs running riverine litter monitoring projects.

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Contact Details

Name: Mrs. Sandrine Nougier
Position: Marine litter policy officer
Division: Marine Ecosystem Policy Office
Organization: Ministry of Ecological Transition, biodiversity, the forest, the sea and fisheries (Ministère de la transition écologique, de la biodiversité, de la forêt, de la mer et de la pêche )
Email: sandrine.nougier@developpement-durable.gouv.fr

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