Since 1 January 2025, French bakeries and pastry shops have been subject to new rules regarding the management of their packaging. Often perceived as a “new tax”, this is in fact an evolution of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) contribution, governed by the Anti-Waste for a Circular Economy (AGEC) law. The goal is simple: to involve professionals who place packaging on the market in financing its recycling, while simplifying their administrative procedures.
What is the packaging eco-contribution?
The principle of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is based on the “polluter pays” concept. In practice, any professional who uses packaging to sell products to end consumers is considered a “producer” and must therefore contribute to the end-of-life management of this packaging. This concerns many types of packaging used daily in bakeries: baguette bags, viennoiserie wrappers, cake boxes, cups, etc.
This obligation is not new – it has existed in France since 1993. However, the new provisions of the AGEC law, in effect since 1 January 2025, aim to simplify the system for artisans and to improve the efficiency of sorting and recycling.
How to comply?
To meet the legal requirements, bakers must follow a specific process:
- Join an approved eco-organisation: Most artisans turn to Adelphe, a subsidiary of Citeo, which is one of the state-approved eco-organisations for household packaging. Joining such an organisation is essential to manage your obligations.
- Obtain a Unique Identifier (IDU): Once registered, the eco-organisation will handle the procedure with the French Ecological Transition Agency (ADEME) to provide you with a Unique Identifier. This ID confirms your compliance.
- Declare your packaging and pay the contribution: Each year, you must declare the quantity of packaging distributed. This declaration determines the amount of your eco-contribution. This reporting is in addition to other regulatory requirements in bakeries, such as product labelling in bakeries.
What are the reporting methods?
To make life easier for artisans, two reporting options are offered:
- Simplified declaration: This is the simplest and most popular solution. It involves paying a flat-rate contribution based on the number of checkout transactions. For bakers and pastry chefs, this amount has been set at €0.0075 per transaction. Simply multiply your annual number of customers by this rate to calculate your contribution.
- Actual declaration: This more complex method requires declaring the weight and type of each packaging placed on the market. It may be worthwhile for bakeries using very little packaging or particularly lightweight materials.
What is the actual cost for a bakery?
The eco-contribution represents a modest cost for artisans. For example, a bakery recording 100,000 checkout transactions per year (about 330 customers per day over 300 days) will pay an annual contribution of €750 (100,000 x €0.0075). This represents approximately 0.24% of a bakery’s average annual turnover. For very small businesses placing fewer than 10,000 consumer sales units (CSUs) on the market, a flat annual fee of €80 excluding VAT applies.
What are the penalties for non-compliance?
It is strongly advised to comply quickly, as penalties can be severe. Failure to meet EPR obligations exposes professionals to an administrative fine of up to €30,000. This may be supplemented by a penalty of €7,500 per tonne or per unit of undeclared product.
In summary, while the word “tax” may cause concern, this eco-contribution is above all an administrative simplification of an existing obligation. It aims to make all economic actors responsible for waste management and promote a more circular economy – a major environmental challenge.
