Loi AGEC and packaging: what companies need to know in 2026-2027

The loi AGEC (French anti-waste law for a circular economy) is five years old. When it comes to packaging reuse, many e-commerce and logistics SMEs and mid-sized companies ship parcels without knowing they fall within its scope. Origin of the text, figures and thresholds, companies concerned, timeline: here are the key points.

Where this obligation comes from

The loi AGEC (Law No. 2020-105 of February 10, 2020) sets out, in its Articles 9 and 67, a general principle of packaging reuse. This principle was detailed by an implementing decree: Decree No. 2022-507 of April 8, 2022, on the minimum proportion of reused packaging placed on the market each year, published in Journal officiel (French Official Journal) No. 84 of April 9, 2022.

In the industry, this decree is known as the décret “3R” (3R decree: reduction, reuse, recycling), because it is part of a five-year strategy setting targets for each of these three levers. The first period covered is 2021-2025.

What the decree requires

A minimum proportion of reused packaging

The decree requires every producer placing packaging on the market to meet a minimum proportion of reused packaging, calculated in sales units placed on the market each year, not in tonnage. The trajectory is gradual:

• 5% in 2023,
• an increase every year,
• 10% in 2027.

This point calls for caution: several industry guides (Adelphe, Citeo) give slightly different intermediate steps depending on their publication date (5 to 7% or 5 to 8% for 2025-2026, depending on the version consulted). The reference text remains the decree itself, available on Légifrance (the official French legal database). Before setting an internal target, check the current year's step in the consolidated text.

A two-speed entry into force

The decree's provisions came into force on January 1, 2023. But for packaging of products whose quality label specifications (such as AOC or AOP designations of origin) prohibit reuse, application was postponed to January 1, 2025. This distinction matters if your business involves products under a quality label.

An additional reduction target for 2025

Separately from the reuse trajectory, the “reduction” part of the décret 3R sets a target of a 20% reduction in single-use plastic packaging by the end of 2025, at least half of which must be achieved through reuse and reutilization. This target is distinct from the 10% threshold, but pushes in the same direction.

After 2025: a framework under revision

The original décret 3R covered the 2021-2025 period, which has now ended. A recent parliamentary question mentions the revision of this framework for 2026-2030, in the wake of the projet de loi DDADUE (bill adapting French law to European Union law). The thresholds applicable after 2027 are therefore not yet settled. This is something to monitor rather than a given.

Who exactly is concerned

Under Article R. 541-351 of the Code de l'environnement (French Environmental Code), the obligations apply to any producer responsible for placing at least 10,000 units of packaged products on the market per year, as well as to any eco-organization (éco-organisme) approved for packaging.

In plain terms, three profiles are targeted:

• packaging manufacturers,
• producers, importers and distributors that place packaged products on the French market,
• approved eco-organizations, which can carry the obligation on behalf of their members.

An e-commerce business or logistics provider shipping more than 10,000 parcels a year under its own brand typically falls within this scope. Below that threshold the obligation does not apply, but that can change quickly as volumes grow.

What this means in practice for an SME or mid-sized company

In practice, it starts with counting: you need to track, in sales units, the share of reused packaging in the total packaging placed on the market. Reusable packaging that is not actually taken back and reused does not count, which rules out from the start any solution without an organized return loop.

Then comes reporting: since 2024, every producer above the 10,000-unit threshold must report its packaging data each year, usually through its eco-organization. That leaves the choice of how to comply. A company can meet the obligation on its own, join a collective reuse structure, or rely on its eco-organization. For an e-commerce business, the difference plays out on the ground: packaging designed for several life cycles, with a return loop, counts toward the regulatory trajectory. A single-use carton, even 100% recycled, does not.

Penalties: what is planned, with a caveat

The Code de l'environnement provides for an administrative penalty regime applicable to non-compliant producers and eco-organizations. Article L. 541-9-5 allows the minister responsible for the environment, after an adversarial procedure, to impose a fine that may not exceed, per unit or per tonne of product concerned, €1,500 for an individual and €7,500 for a legal entity, possibly combined with a daily penalty payment.

An amendment discussed as part of the projet de loi DDADUE (2025-2026) proposes raising the maximum fine, in the event of failure to report or to pay contributions, to as much as one and a half times the amount of the contributions evaded. At this stage it is a text under discussion, not a definitively adopted measure. Before treating this amount as applicable, check its adoption status on Légifrance.

Key dates

The EU PPWR regulation, applicable from August 12, 2026, does not replace this French scheme: it is layered on top of it, with its own reuse thresholds. That is the subject of the next analysis in this series.

This article is for information only and does not replace legal advice. Check thresholds and penalties against the text in force at the time you read this, particularly if the décret 3R is revised for 2026-2030.

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