From:Packaging News

The European Commission has told the French government it must wait another three months before adopting any measure to ban disposable plastics tableware by 2020.

This follows a legal challenge submitted by Pack2Go Europe, the association featuring European food and beverage service, and convenience packaging manufacturers.

“We hope that the legal analysis prepared for us by top EU regulatory specialists will help the Commission, other EU countries and France conclude that this ban is illegal and should be scrapped,” says Mike Turner, from International Paper Foodservice Europe and current president of Pack2Go Europe. “France is flying in the face of the EU’s free movement of goods rules and this action is totally out of proportion to the environmental risk that disposable plastics tableware represents in reality.”

A draft French decree would ban disposable plastic cups, plates and glasses unless made of bio-sourced materials that can be composted in a domestic composting unit.

The association said the draft decree infringes EU law – which guarantees packaging access to market through the EU’s general rules on free movement of goods and, more specifically, through the EU’s packaging & packaging waste directive.

EU law requires member countries to submit draft measures to Brussels and other EU member states for scrutiny in case such measures create trade barriers within the EU internal market.