France is now the first country in the world to ban plastic cups, plates and utensils, says the Washington Post. The countrywide rule will go into effect in 2020.
“The new law is a part of the country’s Energy Transition for Green Growth Act, the same legislation that also outlawed plastic bags in grocery stores and markets beginning in July. Although plastic bags are forbidden in other countries – including in some U.S. states – no country seems to have embraced a plastic ban as sweeping as France’s will be,” says the Post.
Some critics, namely packaging manufacturers, have said that the ban violates EU law, which guarantees the “free movement of goods and the protection of manufacturers,” says the Post.
France’s environmental minister, Segolene Royal, objected to calls from environmentalists that the ban be enacted in 2017. Royal called the earlier start date “anti-social,” because low-income families who rely on plastic plates and utensils wouldn’t have enough time to comply.