In France, the PRO for graphic paper Ecofolio (In France currently there are two distinct PROs for packaging (including paper and cardboard paper) and for graphic paper) dedicates a minimum of EUR 5 million every year to financially support projects which aim to improve the performances of municipalities in terms of paper waste management. Three types of projects are eligible for financing of up to 75 % of their total costs (up to a limit of EUR 800 000):
- projects that put an emphasis on paper collection from households;
- projects aiming to improve the process and organisation related to sorting of paper;
- projects aiming to capture new sources of generated waste paper, including paper from offices.
Commonly in France, graphic paper is collected along with other recyclable materials in a co-mingled waste stream, which renders the subsequent sorting process more complicated and costly. Therefore the projects financed by Ecofolio aim to allow for better recycling of paper waste through a significant increase in the collection and sorting performances of a municipality. For this, the PRO promotes for instance more efficient bring bank systems (via which graphic paper is typically collected), optimisation of collection rounds or the putting in place of a selective collection of graphic paper from offices and administrations (generators of bigger quantities of this material).
In the period between 2013 and 2016 Ecofolio supported more than 130 projects by French municipalities, amounting to a total of around EUR 30 million. The beneficiary municipalities estimate an average reduction of 20 % of the related management costs and an average increase of 20 % in revenues resulting from the additional collected quantities (Ecofolio, 2016).
Ecofolio has also set up a team of three Project Officers who are in charge of services to municipalities. Their role is to interact directly with them in order to better identify their specific needs and to inform and facilitate the implementation of projects with the objective of boosting paper recycling. These meetings are a possibility for municipalities to deepen their knowledge of the paper value chain and to find solutions to the specific problems they face in their territories. In 2015, 36 bigger meetings were organised in which 330 municipalities took part, representing around 38 % of the total population (Ecofolio, 2016).