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AGEC law : a new regulation for the use of water in events

In a world where access to drinking water is still very limited, we use and throw away 36 million single-use plastic water bottles a day in France and one out of two bottles will never be recycled. This number continues to grow as the market for single-use bottles continues to increase each year in France and Europe. Moreover, almost 93% of this bottled water is contaminated by micro-plastics or endocrine disruptors. These figures are alarming and show that we must act as quickly as possible to remedy this situation. It was with this desire to change things quickly that the government published the AGEC law two years ago.

The AGEC law: what is it?

Published on 10 February 2020, the Anti-Waste Law for a Circular Economy (law n°2020-105) aims to progressively reduce the use of plastic packaging, slow down programmed obsolescence and fight against large-scale waste. Re-use and “better production” are also the main lines of work put forward by this law, which target to put an end to single-use plastic by 2040. A timetable for the application of the provisions has been put in place to allow new stages to be reached each year so that words are followed by concrete actions. So far, a dozen decrees have been issued between February 2020 and today, and we can gradually see the changes this has produced in our daily consumption. The next major objective of this law will have to be reached in January 2025 with the will to introduce 100% recycled plastics on the market.

This law is a great step forward in many areas to change the way we consume and this is particularly the case for the events sector.

The events sector concerned

Establishments open to the public (ERP) will also have to change some – bad – habits and submit to the new regulations of this AGEC law. This concerns category 1, 2 and 3 ERP, for events organised both indoors and outdoors. Two decrees are aimed directly at these event organisers. They concern the distribution and delivery of water to participants. A first step was taken on 1 January 2021 with the prohibition on ERP’s distributing free plastic bottles during events, once again in order to reduce the carbon impact of events. The publication of new decrees in January 2022 will take the distribution of water to participants a step further.

AGEC law and water cooler against waste

From now on, event organisers are obliged to provide drinking water points that are accessible and free of charge for the public. This obligation applies to all events that receive a minimum of 300 people, including clients, employees and visitors. In terms of quantity, one water fountain must be installed for every 300 people. These must be indicated with signage and will be freely accessible and free of charge.

Establishments receiving the public will therefore have to find solutions quickly to accommodate these new constraints.

The Waterlab services solution adapts to the AGEC law

In view of these regulations, Waterlab services offers a concrete solution to all event organisers to meet the new legal requirements. We offer you constant support in the maintenance and deployment of a drinking water distribution network that will enable you to offer your customers a guarantee of optimal and continuous distribution on your site, such as the installation and maintenance of water fountains. We have developed two new and innovative water fountains in-house to deal with this new challenge. At Waterlab Services, we are experts in the deployment of temporary solutions tailored to your water needs, everything will be studied in great detail to ensure that the water supply to your event is not a problem. These provisions encourage us to start raising awareness in the events sector and will certainly move things forward.

Water is everyone’s business, let’s make good use of it!

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