仏、ファストフード店で使い捨て容器など使用禁止　来年から

【ルバロワペレＡＦＰ＝時事】フランスでは２０２３年１月１日に、ごみ削減やリサイクル促進を目指した２０年成立の法律が施行され、ファストフード店で使い捨て容器や皿、コップなどの使用が禁止される。そのため各店舗は、数か月前から準備を進めている。（写真は、飲料用カップのプラスチック製のふた）
　ファストフード業界では、持ち帰りと店内飲食の両面で、使い捨て容器や食器類を使うビジネスモデルが一転することになる。フランスにはファストフード店が約３万軒あり、年間６０億食を提供し、推定１８万トンのごみを出してきた。
　ごみ削減を推進するＮＧＯの関係者は、適切に実行されれば具体的な変化をもたらすものだと歓迎。「確実に正しい方向に進むことになる」と評価した。
　一方、包装紙の業界団体は、大半の使い捨て容器は再生資源から生産されている上、欧州連合（ＥＵ）全域でのリサイクル率は８２％に上っているとして、新法導入を批判。再利用可能な食器類の生産や利用は、エネルギーや水の消費を増やすことになると反論している。
　さらに、現場の飲食店からは、客が再利用可能なコップを持ち帰ったり、プレートや食器類を返却せずに捨てたりすることを懸念する声が出ている。
　米サンドイッチチェーンのサブウェイの広報担当者はＡＦＰに対し、数か月の試験期間の結果、ポスターを掲示するなど顧客に対する「啓発活動」が必要との見解を示した。
　別の業界関係者によると、厨房（ちゅうぼう）の改装に加え、持ち帰りと店内飲食向けの注文を分けたり、新たな保管場所を設けたりするなどの対応が必要になったという。
　パリ郊外のマクドナルドで、１６歳の利用者は今回の措置について、「知らなかったが、義務化は良いことだ」とした一方で、「紙や段ボールよりもコストがかかるため、小規模なファストフード店にとっては負担になり、値上げせざるを得なくなるかもしれない」と話した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/12/21-22:03）

Fast-food eateries in France will soon no longer be able to use disposable containers, plates, cups and tableware for clients eating in, the latest measure from a 2020 law to combat waste and encourage recycling.
Restaurants have been preparing for months to implement a rule that comes into force on January 1, which for many has upended business models based on single-use packaging and utensils, both for eating in and for take-out.
The roughly 30,000 fast-food outlets in France serve six billion meals a year, generating an estimated 180,000 tons of waste.
It's an emblematic measure that if properly implemented will make a very concrete difference for people -- it definitely goes in the right direction, said Moira Tourneur of non-profit Zero Waste France.
But the law has drawn criticism from the European Paper Packaging Alliance (EPPA), which argues that most single-use containers are made of renewable resources and have a recycling rate of 82 percent across the European Union.
It also says making and washing durable items consumes more energy and water, defeating a purpose of the environmental cause.
Restaurants have noted as well that clients often take reusable cups with them after a meal or end up throwing plates and cutlery in the trash instead of returning them.
- 'Rethink everything' -
After several months of testing, the Subway sandwich chain found it needed to mount a public awareness effort with franchise operators that included new posters to inform clients to reuse tableware, a spokeswoman told AFP.
At a McDonald's in the Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, manager Maria Varela said they needed to hire an additional dishwasher and more hosts to explain that plates, knives and forks must now be separated from trash.
At first it was very complicated, both at the counter and with table service, she said, noting that the kitchen had to be remodelled to cope with the new requirements.
Everything that was in cardboard is now in reusable plastic. We had to rethink everything in the kitchen, separate take-out from on-site orders, create new storage space.
Pressure groups worry the additional requirements might lead fast-food operators to resist.
Several including Surfrider, Zero Waste France and No Plastic in My Sea have urged clients to sanction the chains that don't respect the law by taking their business elsewhere.
I didn't know about this but it's good that it's mandatory, said Tom Fresneau, 16, who was eating a burger with a friend at the McDonald's outside the French capital.
But it does cost more than paper and cardboard, so I understand if it's problematic for the smaller fast-food restaurants that might have to raise their prices, he said.