Management of unsold non-food and food items
Verified 13 March 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
A substance or mixture which alters endocrine system functions (hormones) resulting in adverse effects on human, animal or plant health and on reproduction.
Sectors with specific waste management obligations for the products they market. Some 20 categories of waste generating products subject to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) exist.
Guadeloupe - French Guiana - Martinique - Mayotte - Reunion
Any operation allowing waste to be reused (recycling, energy production...) or prepared for reuse.
Public institution for inter-municipal cooperation
Individual companies, including micro-companies
Businesses (SARL, SASU, SAS, EURL, SA, SNC, SCS, SCA, etc.)
Transformation of organic matter into methane (biogas) by fermentation
Production unit (manufacturing, storage, logistic center, administrative center...) geographically individualized, but legally attached to the company
Penalty imposed by the criminal judge in addition to a main penalty of imprisonment and/or fine. For example, the withdrawal of a driver's license, the disqualification of civil rights, the prohibition of working with minors, the obligation to carry out work of general interest, or to submit to social and judicial supervision.
Unsold are products for sale that a company has failed to sell. When a company wants to divest itself of unsold goods, it must ensure that it meets its obligations to combat waste.
Products used in the course of a company's business by its staff (office automation, equipment, etc.) are not considered as unsold goods.
What applies to you ?
Non-food and food
Your company is affected by this situation if it meets the following 2 conditions:
- It produces, imports and/or distributes new non-food products
- It is active in the food sector
Obligation to donate
You are prohibited from throwing away your unsold goods new non-food products intended for sale. Except in exceptional circumstances, you must re-use these products, by gift or the re-use.
Unsold new non-food products must be given to associations to combat poverty or an approved social and solidarity economy structure ‘solidarity company of social utility’ (ESUS).
Inquire with the House of Associations the one closest to you, which will guide you towards an association capable of receiving your donations. For your information, you will find the list of approved ESUS as of 1 April 2023. You can contact some of them to make sure their approval is still valid. Then you can give them donations.
Warning
This obligation to donate does not apply to products:
- For which there is no market or demand for products with the same main functions and characteristics as the unsold product (e.g. obsolete IT equipment)
- Whose re-use and re-use entail serious health or safety risks (e.g. objects containing endocrine disruptors prohibited)
- Disposal of which is requested by the competent authority (e.g. your mayor) or by the State (e.g. products placed on the market which do not comply with hygiene and safety standards)
Certain hygiene and childcare products must be given.
It's the products new following:
- The following hygiene products, including beauty products, except those subject to medical prescription:
- Skin, hair and scalp care and cleansing products, hair dyes, styling products
- Care and make-up-removing products intended for the contour of the eyes, make-up-removing products
- Hair bleaching products for shaving
- Products to correct body odors: deodorants or antiperspirants
- Products intended to be applied to the lips
- Solar products
- Dental and oral hygiene products
- External intimate hygiene products
- Soaps
- Hygienic products, diapers, single-use hygiene products including toilet paper, tissues, cotton pads, presoaked wipes for body use
- Washing and cleaning products for washing and dishes, household cleaning products and their accessories including buckets, sponges, mop
- The following childcare products:
- Any product intended to ensure or facilitate the sitting, washing, sleeping, transport, movement and physical protection of children under four years of age, with the exception of accessories for hygiene, bedding and equipment for the transport of children in passenger cars
- Baby bottles, bottle nipples, pacifiers and teething rings
- Utensils necessary for feeding and preparing the food of young children
However, among these lists, certain products should not be given :
- Products with a date of minimum durability of less than three months
- Where no possibility of re-use of these products is possible after contact with the associations and bodies of the social and solidarity economy benefiting from the approval of ‘solidarity company of social utility’
In case your products should not be given away or reused, you should manage them in accordance with the hierarchy of waste treatment methods, in the following order of priority:
- Recycling (via the sorting at source)
- Any other recovery, including energy recovery
- Elimination
Reminder
The companies of sectors subject to extended producer responsibility must manage the products they own. If they have 3 refusals to donate, they can give these products to a approved eco-body who will manage these products. This rebate is only possible if the financial contribution for these products was paid to their eco-organism when they were placed on the market.
So that the donation can take place, an agreement must be drawn up between your company and the organization receiving the donation. This convention must specify :
- That the donating company must ensure that the unsold donated products are sorted
- That the company making the donation must monitor the applicable health and safety regulatory requirements
- That the recipient of the gift may refuse all or part of the gift until the goods are removed. Such refusal may occur in particular if its transport, storage or redistribution capacities are not sufficient. It may also take place after visual inspection of the products, if they do not appear to be functional or to comply with the regulatory requirements in force concerning hygiene.
- That any refusal to donate shall be made in writing
- That any acceptance of a donation shall be accompanied by the establishment of a withdrawal certificate which justifies the fact of the donation
- That the donating company store the unsold donated products for a sufficient period, agreed between the various parties involved, for the recipient to be able to remove them during that period
- That, in the absence of removal by the recipient on the expiry of the period agreed between the parties or, failing that, on the expiry of a period of one month from the date of the offer of gift, the recipient shall be deemed to have refused the gift
- How the traceability of unsold donated products is ensured by both parties
- The conditions under which ownership of unsold goods is transferred from the person making the donation to the recipient of the donation
The non-new medical equipment from which the actors of the distribution chain and the health institutions wish to divest themselves can also be given free of charge.
This gift must come from one of the following establishments :
- Health care facilities (hospitals, doctors' offices, physiotherapy, maternity wards, etc.)
- Facilities or services for the care of elderly people or providing them with assistance in their daily life, care or social integration at home
- Service provider or distributor of medical devices or their accessories intended to promote the return to home and autonomy of sick persons or persons with disabilities or disabilities
- Pharmacy companion
- Distributor engaged in the storage of medical devices and their distribution or export, excluding sale to the public
The donor must check that the medical equipment is not:
- Withdrawn from the market
- Suspended or withdrawn from certification
- An object for which the CE marking has been improperly affixed
- Equipment secured or immobilized by administrative or judicial action
If the material is in any of these cases, it should not be given.
The donation requires the establishment of an agreement with one or more associations and structures of the social and solidarity economy benefiting from the approval “solidarity company of social utility”. That Convention shall state:
- That the donor provides the storage under conditions appropriate to the products concerned, for a specified period, until the equipment ceded has been removed. At the end of that period and in the absence of removal, the beneficiary shall be considered to have refused the donation.
- How is guaranteed, by both parties, the traceability of medical equipment. It provides for the establishment of a withdrawal certificate which justifies the actual transfer and the handing over by the donor of a certificate certifying that the medical equipment has been put to a proper use for the intended purpose by its manufacturer and has been regularly maintained in accordance with the provisions laid down by the latter.
- That the beneficiary may refuse all or part of the equipment transferred free of charge, in particular if its transport, storage or redistribution facilities are insufficient, the products are not functional or if it considers that the goods have not been properly used or maintained. The refusal may be expressed at any time up to the time of donation. Refusal is in writing.
- That the beneficiary undertakes to report the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) incidents of vigilance of which he is aware.
In the Annex to that Convention, it shall be mentioned at the time of each donation :
- The trade name medical equipment, sa product reference
- L'unique identifier of the devices of the product, the serial number medical equipment or, failing this, any information enabling the model of the product to be identified accurately
- The date of first entry into service the medical equipment or, where the device has never been put into service, the date of first acquisition
- The service life of the device as defined by the manufacturer
- L'certificate certifying that the medical equipment has been put to a use intended by its manufacturer and regularly maintained in accordance with the provisions laid down by the latter
The Convention and its Annexes shall be provided upon request of the ANSM.
Recycling of unsold non-food items that cannot be donated
In case of impossibility of donation or reuse, you must recycle your unsold non-food products.
You are exempt from the recycling requirement if no material recycling facilities within 1,500 km around the collection point does not accept to recycle these unsold products.
Please note
This exception can occur mainly in overseas departments and regions.
The obligation also does not apply if the recycling of unsold products has a corresponding cost to one of the following amounts :
- Greater than 20% the selling price of the unsold product
- More than twice the cost of disposing of the product
- Significantly higher than the price borne by other holders of comparable unsold products, or waste from such products, in comparable quantities.
Recovery and disposal of products that cannot be recycled
If your unsold non-food products may not be given, reused or recycled, you must enhance.
If their recovery is prohibited, or if the disposal of your non-food products is requested by the mayor, the president of theECPI or the prefect, you have to dispose of your products.
Penalties provided for
Any failure to comply with these obligations relating to the management of new non-food unsold products shall be subject to a penalty. This is an administrative fine, the amount of which may be increased to €3,000 (natural person) or €15,000 (legal person).
General obligations
Your company is responsible for marketing and valorization the food it manages.
It must implement the management of its unsold food in the EUorder of priority next:
- Preventing food waste
- The use of unsold material suitable for human consumption, through donation or processing
- Recovery for animal feed
- Use to create compost for agriculture or energy recovery, in particular by methanisation
Prohibition of destruction of unsold foodstuffs
He is prohibits the deliberate rendering of unsold foodstuffs unfit for consumption human or any other form of valorization.
This ban applies to all methods which make products unfit for consumption: burning, destruction, contamination by chemicals, etc.
This is a criminal offense. The penalty is a fine up to a maximum of 0,1 % of turnover excluding taxes for the last completed financial year of the establishment who committed the offense. It may be accompanied by additional penalty posting or dissemination of the decision delivered.
Donation of unsold goods fit for human consumption
Your company is subject to a food donation obligation it corresponds to at least one of the following categories:
- Retail food trade with a sales area of more than 400 m²
- Food business distributor producing food that can be delivered as is to a food retailer
- Agri-food industry operator producing food that can be delivered as is to a food retailer
- Catering operator with more than 3 000 meals prepared per day or with annual turnover of more than EUR 50 million
- Wholesale food trader producing food which can be delivered as such to a food retailer or whose annual turnover exceeds EUR 50 million
Foodstuffs excluded from the obligation to give
Certain commodities are not affected the obligation to donate food. This concerns:
- Foodstuffs whose remaining period until the expiry of the use-by date (DLC) less than or equal to 48 hours, unless the association is in a position to distribute such food before that deadline.
- The food of animal origin or containing products of animal origin, unless they are:
- Data provided by the operator of a direct remittance establishment or by a wholesaler and packaged or packaged
- Data by the operator of a approved establishment, if they are defined in its health control plan as being capable of being delivered as such to a food aid operator and bear the health or identification mark
- Data provided by the operator of a mass catering establishment if they are prepackaged, or if they are prepared culinary preparations, or if they are surplus
Please note
Food which is unfit for consumption (cannot be sold or given away) should be prioritized for recovery in animal feed. If this is not possible, they must be used to produce compost for agriculture or be energy-recovered, in particular by methanisation.
Establishment of a donation agreement
Your company should offer the conclusion of a agreement with one or more associations authorized to provide food aid, at the latest 1 year from the start of your activity or from the date on which it reaches the thresholds for which it is subject to the food donation obligation.
If you haven't reached these thresholds but want to donate food, you can must also establish a convention for your donations to take place.
Inquire with the House of Associations the closest to you ask your town hall. You will be referred to an association authorized to receive your donations.
This grant agreement between your company and the association receiving your donations specifies in particular:
- That the food is sorted by the donor
- That the association receiving the donation may refuse all or part of it where, in particular, its transport, storage or distribution facilities are not sufficient. Refusal may also occur after visual inspection of the foodstuffs if they appear unfit for consumption or if the regulatory requirements in force concerning hygiene and health security are not complied with.
- How food is removed, transported and stored
- The respective responsibilities of the donor and the recipient association in the operations of removal, transport and storage of food
- How the traceability of the donated food is ensured by both parties
- That a withdrawal certificate must be issued for each donation. It justifies the reality of the donation.
Implementation of a food donation quality management plan
Your company who donates food must ensuring the quality of the donation on assignment.
To do this, it must put in place a management plan the quality of food donation. It includes:
- A plan to raise awareness of food waste and food donation among all staff
- A training plan for staff responsible for all or part of the donation operations
- The conditions for the organization of the donation of food, including the management of subcontracting
- Procedures to assess the quality of the donation, to record defects reported by the recipient association of the food donation and to follow up corrective actions taken.
In each of your establishments, you must appoint a qualified person responsible for the coordination, monitoring and enforcement of that management plan. It shall ensure that the obligations indicated are complied with.
You must regularly communicate to the association receiving the food donation the quality management plan of the donation and the results of the controls. These documents must also be forwarded to the administrative authority (e.g. your city hall) upon request.
Compulsory particulars on the foodstuffs given
In order to be able to be given, every commodity must to bear a label with :
- Its use-by date if it is very perishable
- A statement concerning the lot number
- A statement on the possible presence ofreportable allergens
The mandatory particulars which must appear on the packaging of foodstuffs when they are sold must be kept at the time of donation.
They may appear on the original packaging of the food or, if this is not given, by copying that information on a separate label affixed to the new packaging of the food.
Penalties provided for
If you do not comply with your food donation obligations, the following procedure applies.
- You're notified the facts alleged, the penalties incurred and the measures prescribed to regularize your situation. You can make your comments.
- After 10 days, if the situation is not regularized, you may be forced to pay a fine of up to €15,000 (natural person) or €75,000 (legal person), and be given formal notice to regularize your situation within a specified period.
- If the period of notice has expired and you have not complied, you will be sanctioned by one or more of the following measures:
- Suspend, at your expense, installations and works, the carrying out of works and operations, or the carrying out of activities which give rise to infringements
- Pay a daily penalty payment of a maximum of €1,500 until the prescribed operations have been carried out
- Pay a fine of up to €150,000 (natural person) or €750,000 (legal person)
FYI
It is an offense to fail to fulfill an obligation to give or to make a donation without first establishing an agreement. She's punished by the fine corresponding to the contravention of 5e class. It rises to €200 (natural persons) or €1,000 (legal persons).
Some unsold items are excluded from your donation obligations. These are:
- Non-new food
- New non-food which cannot be given
- Foodstuffs which are excluded from the obligation to give
FYI
You may agree to a donation agreement with an approved organization to donate non-new non-food products (e.g. office equipment for which your company is no longer in use).
This agreement may be refused.
You must manage these unsold items in accordance with the hierarchy of waste treatment methods, in the following order of priority:
- Preparation for reuse
- Recycling (via the sorting at source)
- Any other recovery, including energy recovery
- Elimination
Food only
Your company is affected by this situation if it meets the following 2 conditions:
- It does not produce, import or distribute new non-food products
- It is active in the food sector
General obligations
Your company is responsible for marketing and valorization the food it manages.
It must implement the management of its unsold food in the EUorder of priority next:
- Preventing food waste
- The use of unsold material suitable for human consumption, through donation or processing
- Recovery for animal feed
- Use to create compost for agriculture or energy recovery, in particular by methanisation
Prohibition of destruction of unsold foodstuffs
He is prohibits the deliberate rendering of unsold foodstuffs unfit for consumption human or any other form of valorization.
This ban applies to all methods which make products unfit for consumption: burning, destruction, contamination by chemicals, etc.
This is a criminal offense. The penalty is a fine up to a maximum of 0,1 % of turnover excluding taxes for the last completed financial year of the establishment who committed the offense. It may be accompanied by additional penalty posting or dissemination of the decision delivered.
Donation of unsold goods fit for human consumption
Your company is subject to a food donation obligation it corresponds to at least one of the following categories:
- Retail food trade with a sales area of more than 400 m²
- Food business distributor producing food that can be delivered as is to a food retailer
- Agri-food industry operator producing food that can be delivered as is to a food retailer
- Catering operator with more than 3 000 meals prepared per day or with annual turnover of more than EUR 50 million
- Wholesale food trader producing food which can be delivered as such to a food retailer or whose annual turnover exceeds EUR 50 million
Foodstuffs excluded from the obligation to give
Certain commodities are not affected the obligation to donate food. This concerns:
- Foodstuffs whose remaining period until the expiry of the use-by date (DLC) less than or equal to 48 hours, unless the association is in a position to distribute such food before that deadline.
- The food of animal origin or containing products of animal origin, unless they are:
- Data provided by the operator of a direct remittance establishment or by a wholesaler and packaged or packaged
- Data by the operator of a approved establishment, if they are defined in its health control plan as being capable of being delivered as such to a food aid operator and bear the health or identification mark
- Data provided by the operator of a mass catering establishment if they are prepackaged, or if they are prepared culinary preparations, or if they are surplus
Please note
Food which is unfit for consumption (cannot be sold or given away) should be prioritized for recovery in animal feed. If this is not possible, they must be used to produce compost for agriculture or be energy-recovered, in particular by methanisation.
Establishment of a donation agreement
Your company should offer the conclusion of a agreement with one or more associations authorized to provide food aid, at the latest 1 year from the start of your activity or from the date on which it reaches the thresholds for which it is subject to the food donation obligation.
If you haven't reached these thresholds but want to donate food, you can must also establish a convention for your donations to take place.
Inquire with the House of Associations the closest to you ask your town hall. You will be referred to an association authorized to receive your donations.
This grant agreement between your company and the association receiving your donations specifies in particular:
- That the food is sorted by the donor
- That the association receiving the donation may refuse all or part of it where, in particular, its transport, storage or distribution facilities are not sufficient. Refusal may also occur after visual inspection of the foodstuffs if they appear unfit for consumption or if the regulatory requirements in force concerning hygiene and health security are not complied with.
- How food is removed, transported and stored
- The respective responsibilities of the donor and the recipient association in the operations of removal, transport and storage of food
- How the traceability of the donated food is ensured by both parties
- That a withdrawal certificate must be issued for each donation. It justifies the reality of the donation.
Implementation of a food donation quality management plan
Your company who donates food must ensuring the quality of the donation on assignment.
To do this, it must put in place a management plan the quality of food donation. It includes:
- A plan to raise awareness of food waste and food donation among all staff
- A training plan for staff responsible for all or part of the donation operations
- The conditions for the organization of the donation of food, including the management of subcontracting
- Procedures to assess the quality of the donation, to record defects reported by the recipient association of the food donation and to follow up corrective actions taken.
In each of your establishments, you must appoint a qualified person responsible for the coordination, monitoring and enforcement of that management plan. It shall ensure that the obligations indicated are complied with.
You must regularly communicate to the association receiving the food donation the quality management plan of the donation and the results of the controls. These documents must also be forwarded to the administrative authority (e.g. your city hall) upon request.
Compulsory particulars on the foodstuffs given
In order to be able to be given, every commodity must to bear a label with :
- Its use-by date if it is very perishable
- A statement concerning the lot number
- A statement on the possible presence ofreportable allergens
The mandatory particulars which must appear on the packaging of foodstuffs when they are sold must be kept at the time of donation.
They may appear on the original packaging of the food or, if this is not given, by copying that information on a separate label affixed to the new packaging of the food.
Penalties provided for
If you do not comply with your food donation obligations, the following procedure applies.
- You're notified the facts alleged, the penalties incurred and the measures prescribed to regularize your situation. You can make your comments.
- After 10 days, if the situation is not regularized, you may be forced to pay a fine of up to €15,000 (natural person) or €75,000 (legal person), and be given formal notice to regularize your situation within a specified period.
- If the period of notice has expired and you have not complied, you will be sanctioned by one or more of the following measures:
- Suspend, at your expense, installations and works, the carrying out of works and operations, or the carrying out of activities which give rise to infringements
- Pay a daily penalty payment of a maximum of €1,500 until the prescribed operations have been carried out
- Pay a fine of up to €150,000 (natural person) or €750,000 (legal person)
FYI
It is an offense to fail to fulfill an obligation to give or to make a donation without first establishing an agreement. She's punished by the fine corresponding to the contravention of 5e class. It rises to €200 (natural persons) or €1,000 (legal persons).
Possibility of donating non-food products to a recognized organization
Non-food products may be donated to an association to combat poverty or an approved social and solidarity economy structure ‘solidarity company of social utility’ (ESUS).
Example :
Office equipment for which your company is no longer in use
Inquire with the House of Associations the one closest to you, which will guide you towards an association capable of receiving your donations. For your information, you will find the list of approved ESUS as of 1 April 2023. You can contact some of them to make sure their approval is still valid. Then you can give them donations.
Establishment of a donation agreement
A convention must be established between your company and an association for combating precariousness or a social and solidarity economy organization enjoying the approval of “Solidarity company of Social Utility” (ESUS) so that the donation can take place.
This convention must specify :
- That the donating company must ensure that the unsold donated products are sorted
- That the company making the donation must monitor the applicable health and safety regulatory requirements
- That the recipient of the gift may refuse all or part of the gift until the goods are removed. Such refusal may occur in particular if its transport, storage or redistribution capacities are not sufficient. It may also take place after visual inspection of the products, if they do not appear to be functional or to comply with the regulatory requirements in force concerning hygiene.
- That any refusal to donate shall be made in writing
- That any acceptance of a donation shall be accompanied by the establishment of a withdrawal certificate which justifies the fact of the donation
- That the donating company store the unsold donated products for a sufficient period, agreed between the various parties involved, for the recipient to be able to remove them during that period
- That, in the absence of removal by the recipient on the expiry of the period agreed between the parties or, failing that, on the expiry of a period of one month from the date of the offer of gift, the recipient shall be deemed to have refused the gift
- How the traceability of unsold donated products is ensured by both parties
- The conditions under which ownership of unsold goods is transferred from the person making the donation to the recipient of the donation
This donation agreement may be denied.
FYI
It is an offense to make a donation without first establishing an agreement. She's punished by the fine corresponding to the contravention of 5e class. It rises to €200 (natural person) or €1,000 (legal person).
Only non-food
Your company is affected by this situation if it meets the following 2 conditions:
- It produces, imports and/or distributes new non-food products
- It is not active in the food sector
Obligation to donate
You are prohibited from throwing away your unsold goods new non-food products intended for sale. Except in exceptional circumstances, you must re-use these products, by gift or the re-use.
Unsold new non-food products must be given to associations to combat poverty or an approved social and solidarity economy structure ‘solidarity company of social utility’ (ESUS).
Inquire with the House of Associations the one closest to you, which will guide you towards an association capable of receiving your donations. For your information, you will find the list of approved ESUS as of 1 April 2023. You can contact some of them to make sure their approval is still valid. Then you can give them donations.
Warning
This obligation to donate does not apply to products:
- For which there is no market or demand for products with the same main functions and characteristics as the unsold product (e.g. obsolete IT equipment)
- Whose re-use and re-use entail serious health or safety risks (e.g. objects containing endocrine disruptors prohibited)
- Disposal of which is requested by the competent authority (e.g. your mayor) or by the State (e.g. products placed on the market which do not comply with hygiene and safety standards)
Certain hygiene and childcare products must be given.
It's the products new following:
- The following hygiene products, including beauty products, except those subject to medical prescription:
- Skin, hair and scalp care and cleansing products, hair dyes, styling products
- Care and make-up-removing products intended for the contour of the eyes, make-up-removing products
- Hair bleaching products for shaving
- Products to correct body odors: deodorants or antiperspirants
- Products intended to be applied to the lips
- Solar products
- Dental and oral hygiene products
- External intimate hygiene products
- Soaps
- Hygienic products, diapers, single-use hygiene products including toilet paper, tissues, cotton pads, presoaked wipes for body use
- Washing and cleaning products for washing and dishes, household cleaning products and their accessories including buckets, sponges, mop
- The following childcare products:
- Any product intended to ensure or facilitate the sitting, washing, sleeping, transport, movement and physical protection of children under four years of age, with the exception of accessories for hygiene, bedding and equipment for the transport of children in passenger cars
- Baby bottles, bottle nipples, pacifiers and teething rings
- Utensils necessary for feeding and preparing the food of young children
However, among these lists, certain products should not be given :
- Products with a date of minimum durability of less than three months
- Where no possibility of re-use of these products is possible after contact with the associations and bodies of the social and solidarity economy benefiting from the approval of ‘solidarity company of social utility’
In case your products should not be given away or reused, you should manage them in accordance with the hierarchy of waste treatment methods, in the following order of priority:
- Recycling (via the sorting at source)
- Any other recovery, including energy recovery
- Elimination
Reminder
The companies of sectors subject to extended producer responsibility must manage the products they own. If they have 3 refusals to donate, they can give these products to a approved eco-body who will manage these products. This rebate is only possible if the financial contribution for these products was paid to their eco-organism when they were placed on the market.
So that the donation can take place, an agreement must be drawn up between your company and the organization receiving the donation. This convention must specify :
- That the donating company must ensure that the unsold donated products are sorted
- That the company making the donation must monitor the applicable health and safety regulatory requirements
- That the recipient of the gift may refuse all or part of the gift until the goods are removed. Such refusal may occur in particular if its transport, storage or redistribution capacities are not sufficient. It may also take place after visual inspection of the products, if they do not appear to be functional or to comply with the regulatory requirements in force concerning hygiene.
- That any refusal to donate shall be made in writing
- That any acceptance of a donation shall be accompanied by the establishment of a withdrawal certificate which justifies the fact of the donation
- That the donating company store the unsold donated products for a sufficient period, agreed between the various parties involved, for the recipient to be able to remove them during that period
- That, in the absence of removal by the recipient on the expiry of the period agreed between the parties or, failing that, on the expiry of a period of one month from the date of the offer of gift, the recipient shall be deemed to have refused the gift
- How the traceability of unsold donated products is ensured by both parties
- The conditions under which ownership of unsold goods is transferred from the person making the donation to the recipient of the donation
The non-new medical equipment from which the actors of the distribution chain and the health institutions wish to divest themselves can also be given free of charge.
This gift must come from one of the following establishments :
- Health care facilities (hospitals, doctors' offices, physiotherapy, maternity wards, etc.)
- Facilities or services for the care of elderly people or providing them with assistance in their daily life, care or social integration at home
- Service provider or distributor of medical devices or their accessories intended to promote the return to home and autonomy of sick persons or persons with disabilities or disabilities
- Pharmacy companion
- Distributor engaged in the storage of medical devices and their distribution or export, excluding sale to the public
The donor must check that the medical equipment is not:
- Withdrawn from the market
- Suspended or withdrawn from certification
- An object for which the CE marking has been improperly affixed
- Equipment secured or immobilized by administrative or judicial action
If the material is in any of these cases, it should not be given.
The donation requires the establishment of an agreement with one or more associations and structures of the social and solidarity economy benefiting from the approval “solidarity company of social utility”. That Convention shall state:
- That the donor provides the storage under conditions appropriate to the products concerned, for a specified period, until the equipment ceded has been removed. At the end of that period and in the absence of removal, the beneficiary shall be considered to have refused the donation.
- How is guaranteed, by both parties, the traceability of medical equipment. It provides for the establishment of a withdrawal certificate which justifies the actual transfer and the handing over by the donor of a certificate certifying that the medical equipment has been put to a proper use for the intended purpose by its manufacturer and has been regularly maintained in accordance with the provisions laid down by the latter.
- That the beneficiary may refuse all or part of the equipment transferred free of charge, in particular if its transport, storage or redistribution facilities are insufficient, the products are not functional or if it considers that the goods have not been properly used or maintained. The refusal may be expressed at any time up to the time of donation. Refusal is in writing.
- That the beneficiary undertakes to report the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) incidents of vigilance of which he is aware.
In the Annex to that Convention, it shall be mentioned at the time of each donation :
- The trade name medical equipment, sa product reference
- L'unique identifier of the devices of the product, the serial number medical equipment or, failing this, any information enabling the model of the product to be identified accurately
- The date of first entry into service the medical equipment or, where the device has never been put into service, the date of first acquisition
- The service life of the device as defined by the manufacturer
- L'certificate certifying that the medical equipment has been put to a use intended by its manufacturer and regularly maintained in accordance with the provisions laid down by the latter
The Convention and its Annexes shall be provided upon request of the ANSM.
Recycling of unsold non-food items that cannot be donated
In case of impossibility of donation or reuse, you must recycle your unsold non-food products.
You are exempt from the recycling requirement if no material recycling facilities within 1,500 km around the collection point does not accept to recycle these unsold products.
Please note
This exception can occur mainly in overseas departments and regions.
The obligation also does not apply if the recycling of unsold products has a corresponding cost to one of the following amounts :
- Greater than 20% the selling price of the unsold product
- More than twice the cost of disposing of the product
- Significantly higher than the price borne by other holders of comparable unsold products, or waste from such products, in comparable quantities.
Recovery and disposal of products that cannot be recycled
If your unsold non-food products may not be given, reused or recycled, you must enhance.
If their recovery is prohibited, or if the disposal of your non-food products is requested by the mayor, the president of theECPI or the prefect, you have to dispose of your products.
Penalties provided for
Any failure to comply with these obligations relating to the management of new non-food unsold products shall be subject to a penalty. This is an administrative fine, the amount of which may be increased to €3,000 (natural person) or €15,000 (legal person).
Some unsold items are excluded from your donation obligations. These are:
- Non-new food
- New non-food which cannot be given
- Food (you are not subject to the obligation to donate)
FYI
You may agree to a donation agreement with an approved organization to donate non-new non-food products (e.g. office equipment for which your company is no longer in use).
This agreement may be refused.
You must manage these unsold items in accordance with the hierarchy of waste treatment methods, in the following order of priority:
- Preparation for reuse
- Recycling (via the sorting at source)
- Any other recovery, including energy recovery
- Elimination
Other
Your company is affected by this situation if it meets the following 2 conditions:
- It does not produce, import or distribute new non-food products
- It is not active in the food sector
Your company is not affected by the obligations relating to the management of new unsold foodstuffs. Nor is it concerned by the obligations relating to the management of unsold foodstuffs.
You must manage the waste generated by your operations and by your staff in accordance with the hierarchy of waste treatment methods, in the following order of priority:
- Preparation for reuse
- Recycling (via the sorting at source)
- Any other valorization, including energy recovery
- Elimination
Possibility of donating non-food products to a recognized organization
Non-food products may be donated to an association to combat poverty or an approved social and solidarity economy structure ‘solidarity company of social utility’ (ESUS).
Example :
Office equipment for which your company is no longer in use
Inquire with the House of Associations the one closest to you, which will guide you towards an association capable of receiving your donations. For your information, you will find the list of approved ESUS as of 1 April 2023. You can contact some of them to make sure their approval is still valid. Then you can give them donations.
Establishment of a donation agreement
A convention must be established between your company and an association for combating precariousness or a social and solidarity economy organization enjoying the approval of “Solidarity company of Social Utility” (ESUS) so that the donation can take place.
This convention must specify :
- That the donating company must ensure that the unsold donated products are sorted
- That the company making the donation must monitor the applicable health and safety regulatory requirements
- That the recipient of the gift may refuse all or part of the gift until the goods are removed. Such refusal may occur in particular if its transport, storage or redistribution capacities are not sufficient. It may also take place after visual inspection of the products, if they do not appear to be functional or to comply with the regulatory requirements in force concerning hygiene.
- That any refusal to donate shall be made in writing
- That any acceptance of a donation shall be accompanied by the establishment of a withdrawal certificate which justifies the fact of the donation
- That the donating company store the unsold donated products for a sufficient period, agreed between the various parties involved, for the recipient to be able to remove them during that period
- That, in the absence of removal by the recipient on the expiry of the period agreed between the parties or, failing that, on the expiry of a period of one month from the date of the offer of gift, the recipient shall be deemed to have refused the gift
- How the traceability of unsold donated products is ensured by both parties
- The conditions under which ownership of unsold goods is transferred from the person making the donation to the recipient of the donation
This donation agreement may be denied.
FYI
It is an offense to make a donation without first establishing an agreement. She's punished by the fine corresponding to the contravention of 5e class. It rises to €200 (natural person) or €1,000 (legal person).
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Compulsory particulars of foodstuffs for consumers
Sanctions
Order of implementation of actions to combat food waste
Prohibition of rendering consumable foodstuffs unfit for consumption
Obligation to donate food
Management of non-food unsold goods & associated penalties
Donation Agreement for Medical Equipment
Penalty for making consumable foodstuffs unfit for consumption
Donation of unsold food (exceptions, agreement, management plan)
Donation of non-food unsold items
Donations of unsold goods by REP channels
Exception to the donation of certain foodstuffs of animal origin
Service-Public.fr
Notre-environnement.gouv.fr
Ministry of Energy Transition
Notre-environnement.gouv.fr
National Network of Associations - RNMA