New bill aims to outlaw use of small water bottles in France 

A French MP has tabled a bill to ban plastic water bottles of less than 50cl by 2027.

Mini-format bottles of mineral water containing 17cl, 20cl, 25cl or 33cl have become increasingly prominent in French shops but Pierre Cazaneuve calls their production and use “a true ecological absurdity.”

“Every year tens of millions of these little plastic bottles are sold in France,” said the Ensemble pour la République MP on his X account. “That represents thousands of tonnes of plastic that are very easily avoidable.”

Environmental associations have welcomed the proposed law, saying it goes beyond the symbolic. “Banning small-format plastic bottles is a necessary first step in turning off the plastic production tap at source and effectively combating this health and environmental disaster,” said Marine Bonavita, advocacy officer at Zéro Waste France.

Single-use plastics will be outlawed by 2040 in France, according to the 2020 AGEC law (the fight against waste for a circular economy). 

If the law banning small bottles does come into force, they would join disposable cups sold empty, plates and plastic cotton buds on the prohibited list.

Read more: Comment: Recycling cannot solve plastic pollution problem alone

On January 1, 2025, non-recyclable polystyrene used in packaging for yoghurt and dessert pots as well as meat and fish trays will also be outlawed.

However, , some wish to put the brakes on such a ban reports francetvinfo.fr . Bernard Pillefer, the Union Centrist senator from Loir-et-Cher, has tabled a bill to “bring French law into line with European law” and “postpone the ban from 2025 to 2030.”

Tyres produce up to 40kgs of pollutants

A new study by the association Agir pour l’Environnement (Act for the Environment) and revealed by France Inter (the French public radio channel which is part of Radio France) has found that wear and tear on a car tyre generates between 17 and 40 kilos of plastic particles, calling it ‘an alarming quantity’.

A laboratory analysed journeys made by two different cars, a saloon and a city car, with results showing that for every kilometre driven, a car loses ‘between 65 and 151 mg of rubber’.

“This is a major source of pollution not only for our environment, but also for the quality of the air we breathe, particularly in the vicinity of major roads”, it warned. The report then called for the identification of certain carcinogenic compounds to ‘lift the industrial secrecy on the chemical composition of tyres’.

Read more: French carmarker provides solution for noisy roads

Its Managing Director, Stéphane Kerkhov, told France Inter that he deplores the glaring lack of documentation on the scale of this pollution and the “lack of transparency regarding the exact composition of car tyres”, which, he says is often unknown to the general public and “covered by industrial secrecy.”

He said that the investigation identified “the presence of at least 25 different volatile organic compounds, more than half of which are considered carcinogenic by the World Health Organisation.”

“If it is confirmed that chemical additives account for up to 50% of tyre mass, it is of the utmost importance to make the marketing of tyres subject to authorisation granted by the European authority following a thorough environmental and health assessment,” he added.

Old quarry becomes protected nature reserve

A former limestone quarry in Orne (Normandy) which was transformed into a protected area for flora and fauna, is now open to the public.

The Belle Eau quarry in Argentan was closed in the 1970s before being bought by the town in the 1980s to prevent it from becoming an open-air dump. Since then, nature has flourished.

“It is one of the richest sites in terms of biodiversity to be found in the Argentan commune. We have lots of little plants that you won’t find anywhere else,” Alexandre Ferré, former project manager at the Conservatoire des Espaces Naturels de Normandie, told France Bleu Normandie. 

Read more: France's first national park is an outdoor haven

“There are also quite a few species of wetland amphibians, like a small toad the size of a thumb. It’s the only place in the Orne where you can find this species."