France Passes Landmark Anti-Plastic Law

There has been a lot of good green news about plastics this month, but no story is bigger than the one out of France. In mid-September, the country passed a ground breaking law that if replicated around the world could make a huge impact on the planet's plastic problem.

The new law completely bans plastic dishes, cups and utensils. As of 2020, these items will no longer be allowed to be sold in France. Instead, people who wish to use disposable plates and silverware will need to opt for biodegradable options like the ones in our Leafware and Eco Products collections here at Paperless Kitchen.

It's an encouraging step for those of us who are seriously concerned about the ever-growing amount of plastic ending up in the ocean and in landfills, but the act is causing some controversy. Plastics manufacturers have already made a formal protest to the European Union, saying that it violates commerce rules. Whether or not the EU will see it the same way isn't clear; however, similar concerns were raised when France banned plastic single use bags and that law was allowed to remain in place.

So could the United States successfully pass such a law? It seems doubtful at the present time. Hawaii is the only state to have a ban on single use plastic bags. Thus far, the work toward addressing the plastic problem has been done at the local level with bag bans in cities like New York. The plastics lobby is powerful in the U.S., and it would take a lot of courage for lawmakers to move against them and ban bags or disposable dinnerware at the federal level.

That doesn't mean that we shouldn't let our lawmakers know how we feel, though! Send your state and U.S. Senators and representatives links to this blog post and let them know you want to see a similar ban here.

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