It’s a national first: The Pays de la Loire Region signed a performance agreement with the Ademe, at the beginning of November, for the implementation of an ambitious policy in the field of circular economy. Both partners are committed to working hand in hand to establish an action plan by 2019.

In 30 years, the Assises Nationales des Déchets (National Forum on Waste Management) has earned an impressive reputation. This event - unique in the waste management sector - is the only forum fully dedicated to this topic in France. The 14th Assises will be held in Nantes, on 27 and 28 September 2017.

The Assises des Déchets has been a not-to-be-missed event for almost 30 years – they were first held in 1991 –, as they are an annual national event and anticipated gathering point for industrialists, associations, local governments and government departments and agencies. Their 15th edition will take place on October 2nd and 3rd, 2019 in Nantes.

The last plenary session of the Assises des Déchets was devoted to challenges of climate change. The contribution of waste prevention and management – but also the progress that is undeniably still needed, were put forward. Highlights.

In this era of environmental democracy, citizens are more or less willing to take an active part in decisions that concern them and their environment. How should such participation be organised? For what purpose? How can citizens be mobilised? Such are the challenges to be taken by private and public contractors and players.

How should the transition be carried out from a linear economy, and thus from a logic of unlimited resources, to a circular and thus virtuous economy? Initiatives are being conducted in local territories, but how and with what objectives? This is the topic of the workshop on circular economy that took place during the 13th Assises des Déchets.

Although the energy transition law (LTECV) provides for the recovery of 55% of bio-waste by 2020, one million tons are still “wasted” every year in France: to limit burial and incineration, the priority is thus more than ever to capture this resource, which represents about 36% of household refuse, and to direct it towards solutions of composting or methanisation. Three experiences of source capture with encouraging results are presented below.

Within a few years, individual sorting has given rise to a real industrial recycling program… which has now to move to a new level to develop and match future regulatory ambitions.

It was decided, this year, to significantly overhaul the format of the Assises des Déchets, with the aim of working on the implications of the new National Waste Plan. The event now divides itself into two distinctly separate parts. All technical workshops will happen on Day 1, in three consistent “paths” focused on issues relevant to concerns in the field likely to interest all stakeholders, whereas Day 2 will be devoted to debates on core waste issues.

It is a bit early to lift the veil on the details of topics that will be addressed in technical workshops of the 13th Assises des Déchets, in September 2015. But the themes of “paths” within which workshops will be organised may already be revealed, to discover how highly topical they are.