Close×

France has become the first country to ban all plastic cups, plates and cutlery in a law that will take full effect in 2020.

The measure was passed last month, but businesses have until 2020 to fully comply, according to the Associated Press.

All disposable dishes in France will instead have to be made from biologically sourced materials and the products must be able to be composted.

BioPak founder and director Richard Fine told PKN Packaging News the news was "fantastic".

"The rest of the world should start adopting the same measures," he said.

bck_10_gl_detail1

"There's no reason we have to use plastic single-use items.

"Their environmental cost is mounting up and now that we have more bioplastics players coming on board consumers can make choices that will not pollute the environment."

Biopak offsets all the carbon emissions associated with the production, transport and disposal of its sustainable, plant-based packaging.

France banned plastic bags in July, a move other countries have also made, but France is the first to extend these types of bans to plastic cutlery and dishes.

France has been a leader on climate change and hosted the Paris Climate Change Conference in 2015.

The country's newest ban has attracted criticism from packaging industry lobbyists, who say that the ban violates European Union rules on the free movement of goods, the AP says.

Food & Drink Business

After a difficult year for beverage alcohol in 2024, brand owners are facing up to an ever more complex and changeable marketplace. Beverage alcohol data and intelligence agency, IWSR, identifies and examines the six key trends driving beverage alcohol in 2025.

The winning products of the 2025 Healthy Food Guide Awards have been announced, with over 150 products from across supermarket shelves recognised for their nutritional value, including Allied Pinnacle’s high-fibre flour collaboration with Woolworths.

Visy has completed a $30 million upgrade to its 100 per cent recycled paper mill on Gibson Island in Brisbane, which will manufacture new grades of paper for corrugated boxes used by Queensland farmers and food and beverage businesses.