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What the AGEC law really changes for businesses

Adopted in February 2020, the Anti-Waste Law for a Circular Economy, known as the AGEC law, is the most far-reaching piece of legislation ever passed in France on the circular economy. It does not concern only local authorities or waste industry operators. It redefines the rules of the game for every company that produces, distributes or markets products.

What many organisations failed to anticipate: the AGEC law is not a fixed body of rules. It is a text that rolls out progressively, with obligations activated by decree, by product category and by headcount threshold.

This guide gives you an operational reading: what the law requires, of whom, and from when.

The 5 pillars of the AGEC law

The AGEC law is built around five major strands. Understanding their scope tells you which ones apply to you.

1. The end of single-use plastic: this is the most visible measure. The law programmes the progressive removal of single-use plastics: cutlery, straws, stirrers, expanded polystyrene food containers and so on. The deadlines run from 2021 to 2025 depending on the product. Food service, food retail and events companies are on the front line.

2. The repairability index, then the durability index: since January 2021, certain electronic devices (smartphones, laptops, televisions, washing machines, lawnmowers) have had to display a repairability index scored out of 10. Calculated on the basis of public criteria (availability of spare parts, technical documentation, ease of disassembly), this index is progressively becoming a durability index. For the manufacturers and importers concerned, it is an obligation of product traceability and transparency that involves the entire design chain.

3. Tackling waste from unsold non-food goods: this is arguably the obligation with the greatest impact on consumer goods brands. Since 1 January 2022, destroying unsold non-food goods has been prohibited. The products covered span a wide scope: household appliances, textiles, hygiene products, IT equipment, toys and so on. The alternative is mandated: reuse, repurposing or recycling. For many companies, that means reviewing their returns logistics, their logistics contracts and the way they manage end-of-line stock.

4. Producer accountability through EPR schemes: the AGEC law extends and strengthens Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes. In practice, any producer, importer or distributor placing waste-generating products on the market must contribute financially to their collection and treatment. Existing schemes (packaging, WEEE, batteries and so on) are being strengthened and new ones created: textiles, toys, sports and leisure goods, professional packaging, construction and more.

5. Information and transparency: the AGEC law introduces new consumer information obligations. Recycled content in products, availability of spare parts, information on how to sort. It also strictly regulates environmental communication: vague claims such as "biodegradable", "environmentally friendly" or "ecological" are now prohibited on products and packaging unless they are substantiated.

Timetable of the main AGEC obligations

Here are the deadlines to keep in mind as you manage your compliance.

2021

• Ban on single-use plastics (first wave: cutlery, straws, stirrers, cotton bud sticks)
• Introduction of the repairability index for 5 product categories
• Obligation for retailers over 400 m² to offer loose (unpackaged) food sales areas

2022

• Ban on destroying unsold non-food goods (companies of all sizes)
• End of plastic packaging for fruit and vegetables under 1.5 kg
• Entry into force of the EPR scheme for professional packaging

2023

• Extension of the repairability index to new product categories
• New EPR schemes operational (toys, sports, leisure and DIY goods)
• Stronger traceability obligations for textiles (the TLC scheme)

2024

• Obligation to serve takeaway food without disposable packaging in food service (reusable containers)
• Extension of the obligation to take back used products across several EPR schemes

2025-2026

• Transition to the durability index (which replaces and expands the repairability index)
• Stronger recycled content requirements for certain packaging categories
• Alignment with the European PPWR regulation (Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation), in force since 2025

Who is concerned, and by what?

The AGEC law does not apply uniformly. The level of obligation depends on your activity, your size and your position in the value chain.

• You produce or import physical products: you are on the front line. EPR obligations, the repairability or durability index, the ban on destroying unsold goods, product marking and information: the whole framework applies according to your product categories.
• You are a distributor or retailer: you have specific obligations on loose sales, take-back of used products (one-for-one), display of the repairability index in store, and the provision of water fountains in large stores.
• You are a services or B2B company: the AGEC law affects you less directly on the product side, but it has an impact on your purchasing, your communication and your waste management policy. The professional packaging EPR scheme applies to you if you place packaging on the market for professional use.
• You are in food service: obligations on reusable containers, single-use plastics and takeaway sales have transformed the sector between 2021 and 2024. Compliance is no longer optional.

What the AGEC law says about your communication

This point is often underestimated. The AGEC law has direct consequences for what you are allowed to say about your products and packaging.

Unsubstantiated environmental claims such as "biodegradable", "environmentally friendly", "ecological" or "compostable" are now prohibited on products or packaging (the last of these is permitted only for home composting and prohibited where it refers to industrial composting without clarification).

This restriction is part of a broader movement, reinforced by the 2021 Climate and Resilience law, which makes greenwashing a misleading commercial practice under the French consumer code, and by the European regulations that followed (the EmpCo directive, the ESPR regulation).

What that means in practice: every environmental claim must now be substantiated, measurable and verifiable. "Made with 30% recycled material" is acceptable. "Good for the planet" is not.

The AGEC law and business strategy: beyond compliance

Complying with the anti-waste law for a circular economy is a necessity. But treating it purely as a regulatory constraint is a strategic mistake.

Companies making progress on this subject see three types of competitive advantage:

• Lower operating costs: the ban on destroying unsold goods, combined with EPR obligations, forces a review of logistics flows. Many companies, while working on compliance, uncover optimisation opportunities they had not identified: reduced overstocks, new value-generating clearance channels, packaging optimisation.
• A more secure value chain: the AGEC law foreshadows broader regulation on material traceability, recycled content and product durability. Companies that anticipate these requirements build more robust supply chains, less dependent on virgin materials and more resilient to future regulatory shocks.
• Commercial differentiation. In certain sectors - textiles, packaging, electronics - the repairability index, recycled content or take-back policy have become purchasing criteria for business customers. Being ahead on compliance often means being ahead of what your customers will ask for tomorrow.

The AGEC law and the European framework: what comes next

The AGEC law is not a standalone text. It is part of a European regulatory movement that will only gather pace.

Several pieces of legislation will reshape the landscape in the coming years: the ESPR regulation (Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, adopted in 2024), which imposes durability and repairability requirements across a very wide product scope; the PPWR regulation on packaging, in force since 2025, which sets reduction and reuse targets at European level; and the CSRD directive, which requires large companies to report on their environmental impacts, including resource and waste management.

In this context, the AGEC law is the first step on a regulatory staircase. Companies that have structured their AGEC compliance are, in effect, a step ahead of the European obligations to come.

What Circul'R sees in the field

For more than ten years, Circul'R has been supporting companies in their transition to circular business models through training, consulting assignments, sector coalitions and our Club. What we see time and again:

AGEC compliance is rarely something handled in one go. It involves several functions - legal, supply chain, marketing, procurement - that do not naturally speak the same language on these subjects. The companies that fare best are those that have put internal governance in place on the topic, with an identified owner and a shared reading of the obligations by product category.

What is more, EPR obligations - often experienced as a simple tax - are in fact a lever for structuring an entire sector. Several of the coalitions Circul'R has launched (on packaging reuse in particular) grew out of the collective realisation that regulatory compliance is better handled across a value chain than by a company on its own.

Going further

The anti-waste law for a circular economy is redrawing the rules of the game for French businesses. For organisations that build it into their strategy, rather than treating it as a constraint, it opens up real levers of economic performance and resilience.

Circul'R supports companies and sector coalitions through this transformation. If you would like to identify your priority obligations, structure your AGEC roadmap or work at value chain level, get in touch with our team.