No Magic, Just Mandates: Lessons from France
Takeaways from the REuse Economy Expo
By Sydney Harris, Upstream Policy Director
Last month I had the good fortune to attend the REuse Economy Expo in Paris, France. The event was massive, with booths filling an entire expo center and a surprise visit from French President, Emmanuel Macron! Over two days, the event brought together 500 showcased solutions, 3,741 participants from 44 different countries, and more than 300 speakers.
What’s so special about reuse in France? Nothing.
My biggest takeaway from the Expo, along with surrounding site visits, tours, workshops and meetings I added to my trip, was that nothing altogether special is happening in France that can’t apply to the U.S., Canada and beyond.
Yes, their reuse sector is more advanced than ours because their policies have been in place for a few more years. But in general, consumers are no more “reuse-friendly” in France than elsewhere. There is no underlying idealist sentiment guiding France’s transition to reuse; companies are still operating in the same capitalist framework, with the same supply chains (roughly speaking) as in the U.S. and Canada; the same trade association dynamics are present, with some groups staunchly opposed to EPR, DRS, and other systemic policies, while others are more forward-thinking and supportive.
Plain and simple, policy is catalyzing the growth of reuse in France. Specifically, reuse mandates for fast-moving consumer packaged goods coupled with obligatory investments into the reuse sector for packaging PROs.
I asked everyone I spoke with at the Expo what is helping them expand reuse: 100% of them said funding from the packaging EPR program. Nobody mentioned willing consumers, airtight LCAs, or a general collective drive to save the planet. In fact, most of them raised the same points we are so familiar with in a North American context — from the need for consumer education to ensure high-performing systems that surpass break-even points, to the challenge of modeling and communicating the economic benefits of reuse amid increasing pushback against climate- or eco-focused initiatives.
France is taking reuse seriously because, like other members of the European Union, they are feeling the pinch of a volatile global energy market and have a strong desire to achieve resource independence. The people I met, from panelists on stage to the PROs themselves, shared a deep concern about the security risks inherent in depending on other countries for energy and raw materials. They value the stability offered by reusable packaging — an asset that is largely insulated from the changing price of oil and other global market swings, and that comes with predictable ongoing operating costs.
The future is now, but also… later
Another big takeaway worth noting: Everyone I spoke with shared a common attitude toward the economics of reuse systems — namely, an understanding that they need time to become competitive.
No one expected reuse to be profitable on day one. (Important note: France’s packaging EPR program excludes food serviceware, so here, I am explicitly referring to reusable packaging systems. We know it can be profitable for reuse providers, venues, and restaurants to offer reusable foodserviceware in closed settings, and we see great examples of that across North America and beyond.) Asking reusable packaging to directly compete with single-use packaging on a short timeframe is a tall order: single-use packaging has been heavily subsidized for decades, both on the raw materials side and the collection and management side.
On the other hand, reusable packaging requires upfront capital investments and changes to a highly optimized, incumbent linear system that can take years to pay off. The people I spoke with recognize this and are not expecting reuse systems to stand on their own for at least a decade. Some, of course, will achieve economic profitability far earlier — a few reuse providers I spoke with are already expecting to be profitable next year. But REuse Economy Expo attendees universally acknowledged that subsidizing reuse systems through the packaging EPR program is a crucial bridge to a future reuse economy — one that is allowing room for innovation, experimentation, and critical learnings as the sector grows.
“Asking reusable packaging to directly compete with single-use packaging on a short timeframe is a tall order: single-use packaging has been heavily subsidized for decades, both on the raw materials side and the collection and management side. ”
The value of scaling — and failing
Innovation and experimentation have defined the first phase of France’s big reuse-in-EPR rollout. Required spending from the PROs has meant tremendous investments into just about every reuse provider who raised their hands — even though some of them have since closed their doors.
The PROs are not looking at these instances as a waste — they are recognizing them for the valuable learnings they offer. As with any emerging sector of the economy, there will be models that scale and models that fail. And in the background of all this experimentation, PROs are steadily working with their member-producers to put these learnings to use.
That is what leadership looks like from a packaging PRO, and it’s what we aim to see from PROs in the U.S., Canada, and beyond. Although the conditions for reuse in France are nothing special, the initiative their PROs are taking is exceptional — let’s bring that energy here!
