Description
Zero Waste France is an independent French association that works to reduce waste at the source: it publishes practical guides for households, schools and towns, investigates the packaging and waste industries, and campaigns against single-use plastic, incineration and fast fashion. It is an alternative to the advice of the packaging industry, which says that sorting and recycling are enough.
It was founded in 1997 as the Centre national d’information indépendante sur les déchets (Cniid), which first warned about the dioxins released by incinerators, and took the name Zero Waste France in 2014. It has a team of 13 and almost 80 local groups in France and the overseas territories, with about 650 active volunteers. Donors automatically become members and vote at the general assembly; only citizens and environmental associations can join. It is a founding member of Zero Waste Europe and belongs to the European Environmental Bureau and the Réseau Action Climat.
In 2025 donations made up more than half of its budget, and 73 % of its resources went to campaigns and missions; its accounts are certified each year. It also receives public grants for specific projects, mainly from ADEME and the ecology ministry, and its statutes forbid money from organisations whose interests contradict its aims, such as waste-treatment companies. Its guides cover composting, food waste, zero-waste periods and the “Rien de neuf” challenge, and it helped found the bulk and reuse network Réseau Vrac et Réemploi.
Strengths
- Clear, practical guides to throw away less, not just sort better, on composting, food waste and buying nothing new.
- Independent of the waste industry, funded mostly by donations, with certified accounts.
- Almost 80 local groups across France that run workshops and local campaigns.
Weaknesses
- Mostly in French and focused on French law and policy.
- Much of its work is political lobbying and reports rather than practical help for households.
- It also takes public grants from ADEME and the ministry, though only for specific projects.
Who it is for
Households, schools and local councils in France who want to reduce their waste, and citizens who want to push for laws against single-use plastic.
Sources
- Zero Waste France: vision, missions, histoire, partenaires et indépendance, nous soutenir, le mouvement, guides pratiques, checked November 2026
- Wikipédia: Zéro déchet