ZERO WASTE: regulations changing from 1 January

As part of its ‘zero single-use plastic waste by 2030’ policy, the Prince's Government is strengthening its regulations with two new measures which will enter into force on 1 January 2023.

From this date:

-          Meals that are eaten on the premises of a restaurant, café or similar will need to be served on reusable dishes;

-          Sales and bank card receipts will no longer be printed as a matter of course. However, customers will still be able to request a printed receipt regardless of the total cost of their purchases.

These measures will strengthen the arsenal of regulations that the Prince’s Government has been gradually building as part of the Waste Prevention and Management Plan for Monaco 2030. The regulations apply to the plastic products that are most responsible for waste found in the environment, including at sea, and that can be easily replaced with more eco-friendly options.

They supplement several measures which entered into force between 2021 and 2022:

-           The requirement for employers with a cafeteria to make reusable dishes available for their employees, as well as boxes so that meals can be taken away;

-          The right of all consumers to be served using their own reusable containers;

-          The ban on routinely supplying disposable cutlery free of charge for takeaway food (disposable cutlery must now be paid for and is supplied only on request);

-          A ban on meal deals including a drink to avoid encouraging customers to purchase drinks packaged in single-use containers (cans, plastic or glass bottles, etc.).

At the same time, the Government has introduced MaConsigne, a returns system for takeaway containers, to eliminate the use of disposable packaging. (For more information, see: https://maconsigne.com/ ).

All of these measures offer eco-friendly solutions for consumers eating meals outside their homes, who now have an incentive to choose reusable options.

Finally, the traders and restaurant owners targeted by these regulations can take advantage of support
with the environmental transition by signing up to the Responsible Trader or
Responsible Restaurant schemes (for more information about these certifications, see: https://fr.calameo.com/read/005833016967515612c96 ). Checks will be carried out starting in January 2023 to ensure that all regulations relating to waste are being properly implemented.

If you have any questions, please contact: environnement@gouv.mc