By Order of 27 April 2016: Don’t throw waste paper out with your refuse!

The Order of 27 April 2016 relates to the treatment of waste paper in the office. It complements Decree No. 2016/288 of 10 March 2016 on adaptation and simplification measures in preventing and managing waste.

The Order is designed to support sustainable development and national waste prevention and management policy by stipulating the trades and functions producing waste paper that will be required to abide by these new regulations. The obligation to sort waste paper generated by their activity will affect self-employed tradespeople, business owners with ten or more employees, administrative and commercial managers, engineers and technical managers, public service executives, and many others. In other words, all of us!

The waste paper concerned had already been identified in the 10 March decree: waste printed papers, books, press publications, envelopes and other paper stationery items, and paper for graphic use. Where waste paper is not treated on site, companies must deliver it to a waste recovery plant or have it picked up by a waste collection, transportation, trading or brokerage firm with a view to recovery. In return, the producers of the waste paper shall receive a certificate, before 31 March, stating the quantities of waste processed the previous year, the nature of the waste and how it is ultimately recovered.

When did these new requirements come into force?

Since 1 July 2016 for public services and sites with over 100 employees. For sites with more than 50 people, the regulations have applied since 1 January 2017. And sites with at least 20 people have had to abide by them since 1 January 2018.