From 1 January 2024 French households and businesses will need to collect food waste under new 'compost obligatoire' rules.

The organic waste is intended to be used for biogas, in France approximately 5.5 million tonnes of bio-waste is currently incinerated each year, or used as fertiliser.

The rules at the moment will not carry any fines for non-compliance, but with biodegradable waste accounting for one-third of household waste that can end up in landfills or being burnt, where it produces greenhouse gases like methane or CO2, the desire to cut down is a driver, especially within the EU’s attempt to reach its own net-zero target by 2050.

The UN places between 8-10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions are associated with food that is not consumed, so that if such schemes were mandates worldwide a significant reduction in climate changing gases could be achieved.

Currently the collection of food waste is encouraged, and at times quite strictly, within the EU and the UK, but not mandatory or enforced with fines for the end user.

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