‘Environmental nonsense’: Here’s why France wants to ban bottled water

A French politician has called for a ban on small plastic water bottles, calling them “completely absurd” and “environmental nonsense”.

Pierre Cazeneuve, who belongs to President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party, submitted a proposed law this week which could see the end of water bottles smaller than 50cl.

Expanding his “absurd” comment, Cazeneuve said that the diminutive bottles - which encompass the 33, 25 and 17cl sizes - "contain 20-25 grams of plastic for just three or four sips of water". He has not included larger bottles in his potential ban - yet.

Will the proposed water bottle ban be signed into French law?

The proposed bill will have to pass through several legislative hoops to become law.

In order to achieve that, it would need to be debated in parliament and win the support of the majority of MPs there.

Currently, it’s not very likely to happen as the current makeup of the government is not just deeply divided, but there’s also no party majority in the House.

However, if it did pass, many French citizens would likely be in favour of it.

A recent poll, conducted by OpinionWay for the charities Zero Waste France and No Plastic in My Sea, discovered that some two thirds of people in the country would be in favour of such a ban.

What is the current situation with plastic in France?

In France, at least 13 billion plastic bottles are produced every year.

To make it worse, a significant proportion of them are not recycled, with a large number of them ending up in the oceans, which causes vast environmental damage.

Nevertheless, France does actually have extensive legislation covering single-use plastics already in place.

The so-called 'anti waste law' has gradually prohibited the use of single-use plastics including cutlery, drinking straws, and take-away boxes, and also put limits on plastic packaging for retailers.

Plastic water bottles, though, are not covered by the law. There are, however, plenty of schemes in place to encourage people to stop buying new plastic bottles and plump for refillable bottles instead.

Across France, many towns and cities have accessible drinking water fountains where bottles can be refilled.

In Paris, if you spot a sign in the window of a bar or café with the 'L'eau de Paris' logo, you can refill your bottle inside with tap water for no charge.

Bottled water has long been a touchy subject in France.

Earlier this year, an investigation by newspaper Le Monde and broadcaster Radio France found that almost one in three mineral water brands in the country undergoes purification treatment supposed to be used only on tap water.

That revelation came after Nestlé admitted that it treated water for its major brands, including Perrier and Vittel, with ultraviolet light and active carbon filters.

That goes against a French law, based on a European Union directive, which bans the disinfection of mineral water, which is supposed to be of naturally high quality before it gets bottled.