France advances packaging reuse and recycling under Plastic Plan

As part of the national consultation on the French Plastic Plan, the eco‑organism Léko put forward three measures aimed at speeding up the reuse and recycling of household packaging. Its pilot programme, launched in October 2025, tested reusable packaging – especially glass bottles – in the Auvergne‑Rhône‑Alpes, Occitanie and Provence‑Alpes‑Côte d’Azur regions. Within a year, more than 350 stores from six retail chains, over 200 producers and 1 600 product references took part, organising 650 consumer‑awareness events. The initiative recorded a 54 % return rate across the logistics loop and enabled the reuse of over 400 000 packages, a 54 % increase in collected volumes, with an economic efficiency of roughly one euro invested per reused item.

A separate study by the French National Council of Employers (CNE) highlighted the strategic weight of the packaging sector: €42 billion in annual turnover, 175 000 direct jobs and 7 500 sites nationwide. Of the 13 million tonnes of packaging placed on the market each year, about 70 % are recycled, with 80 % of that recycling carried out domestically. The CNE argues that packaging remains a vital, yet overlooked, pillar of the French economy.