PARIS (Reuters) - France will tax non-recyclable throwaway plates and cutlery to encourage consumers to buy more eco-friendly products, ahead of a wider move that could include consumer electronics, the environment minister said on Monday.
France has already introduced the so-called "bonus-malus" system for cars, under which an extra tax is imposed on the most heavily polluting vehicles while the greenest get a tax break.
Newspaper Le Figaro said the government had agreed on a list of new items that could be included, such as fridges, washing machines, televisions, batteries and wooden furniture, but Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said no final decision had been reached.
"We are not completely ready. It has not been decided on definitively," Borloo told RTL radio, adding that decisions would be taken "gradually".
His office later said that the tax would apply to non-recyclable cardboard, but not plastic tableware, and would be levied on distributors and importers.
Borloo said the "picnic tax" would amount to 0.9 euros ($1.26). He did not, however, say what amount of cutlery that tax would apply to, and Environment Ministry officials declined to elaborate on the measure.
I saw that over on Reuters and thought it was interesting. Kind of along the lines of the plastic bag taxes, etc.
