The city of Paris has banned traditional plastic retail bags from its supermarkets in favor of compostable and bio-based bags.
In a Dec. 16 statement, the Paris mayor's office said the decision was a move to reinforce the provision of “energy transition law” on packaging and the city's bid to become a leader in the “fight against climate change and the campaign for a circular economy.”
The move will only allow compostable biosourced bags as well as paper and cotton bags for primary packaging.
As part of the campaign, Italian bio-based plastic packaging company, Novamont SpA will offer more than 3 million bio-sourced and compostable bags to markets.
Public awareness workshops on the end of disposable plastic bags will also be held to educate the public on different types of existing degradable and biodegradable bags.
The move follows another already-in-place measure by Paris supermarkets to collect unsold food products and vegetable scraps as part of the city's environmental campaign.