While glass bottles have long been subject to a deposit in Germany, there is still no nationwide deposit system for glass in neighbouring France. That could change. A pilot scheme is currently being trialled in four regions.
In four regions in the north and west of France, a deposit can now be charged on two glass bottle models, according to French media reports. Other bottles and screw-top jars are to be added at a later date. Several large supermarket chains are involved in the project, which is being carried out in the Pays de la Loire, Brittany, Normandy and the Hauts-de-France region and is scheduled to last a year and a half. Around 16 million people live in these regions.
Unlike in Germany, there is no large deposit system in France. Only at individual retailers or in local initiatives bottles are used.
Up until the early 1990s, deposits were quite common in France too, for example on milk bottles. But the Increasing use of disposable plastic was one reason for the end of the bottle deposit. One exception to this is Alsace, where deposit bottles are still used and there are also deposit machines in supermarkets.
