France is the first country to ban all plastic plates and cups

All plastic plates and cups must be eliminated in France by 2020.
 By 
Emma Hinchliffe
 on 
France is the first country to ban all plastic plates and cups
France is the first country to ban all plastic cups and plates. Credit: Getty Images

Say goodbye to plastic plates in France.

The country is the first to ban all plastic cups, plates and silverware in a law that will take full effect in 2020. The measure was passed last month, but businesses have until 2020 to fully comply, according to the Associated Press.

All disposable dishes in France will instead have to be made from biologically sourced materials. The products must be able to be composted.


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France banned plastic bags in July, a move other countries have also made, but France is the first to extend these types of bans to plastic cutlery and dishes.

France has been a leader on climate change and hosted the Paris Climate Change Conference in 2015.

The country's newest ban has attracted criticism from packaging industry lobbyists, who say that the ban violates European Union rules on the free movement of goods, the AP says.

The proposal was first introduced by the Europe Ecologie-Greens Party.

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Emma Hinchliffe

Emma Hinchliffe is a business reporter at Mashable. Before joining Mashable, she covered business and metro news at the Houston Chronicle.

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