Looking back at the 14th Assises des Déchets. On 27 and 28 September, more than 600 waste management industry stakeholders and players gathered in Nantes (France). Not only did they enjoy the technical presentations which were to the point as usual, but they also took advantage of this year’s dynamics, spirit and of the variety of in-depth and interesting discussions. In addition to the powerful spirit, there was an abundance of reflections and assertions, possibly the result of the choice

Timeline: 2022! At the beginning, in the field of waste sorting, priority was given to packages whose recycling was technically feasible, i.e. plastics, bottles and flasks. Technology has improved, new plastic recycling schemes have been developed, and the law now imposes to extend sorting requirements to all plastic packages by 2022. Majors efforts have been made, with positive structuring results. A summary of discussions held in Workshop 1 of the Assises is given

The objective of Workshop 2, the first of its kind in the Assises, was to explore advances to be expected from new technologies, and to take stock of the current situation.

Although the bulk of waste is now recovered and treated in adequate conditions, some bad practices are still prevailing. Somme waste is still left on the side of the road and sometimes exported or used illegally, and often ends up in the oceans. Such practices are difficult to quantify and to control, as they combine minor offences and much more organised systems. Here-below is a summary of discussions held in Worskhop 3 of the Assises.

A real novelty! The regional level now appears as the right one for the planning of waste management, in many dimensions, including a transversal dimension. This is illustrated by two regions – Pays de la Loire and Occitania. Here-below is a summary of discussions held in Workshop 4 of the Assises.

In the field of energy recovery, most technologies are very mature. And yet, new technologies or “technological building blocks” are being developed to improve them even more. Positives effects of land planning and of organisation efforts are also expected in terms of developing adequate energy recovery schemes. Here-below is a summary of discussions held in Worskhop 5 of the Assises.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) systems are a French specificity. At European level, only five EPR channels are imposed by the framework directive: packages, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), end-of-life vehicles, storage batteries and batteries. There are about 15 ERP channels, in France, and about 20 eco-organisations. Current schemes need to be developed to become a sustainable industry based on circular economy. Here-below is a summary of the discussions

Aware of the fact the plastics industry conveys the negative image of a waste generator, the Plastics Industry Federation made the decision to significantly improve its recycling capabilities to correct the situation.  Therefore, the plastics industry has decided to comply with the prohibition of plastics disposal to be enforced in 2025, and took advantage of Workshop 7 of the Assises to assert its leads.

Eco-design deconstruction instead of demolition, circular economy, labels, innovation… The stakeholders multiply their actions associated with the construction and demolition waste management (CDWM), aware of the fact that such waste amount to a potential resource of 227 million tons per year.
Minutes of workshop 8 of the Assises.

A third of all household waste materials are bio-waste to which must be added a significant quantity coming from larger organizations. Hence, the cost and impact of this resource must be addressed. Following the new regulations governing composting, the new framework of energy transition law sends another strong signal. The reduction of bio-waste materials and of their landfilling, the improvement of the material recycling rate, the generalization of source sorting before 2025 are