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Firstly, non-hazardous waste is defined, by default, as waste that does not exhibit any of the properties characterizing hazardous waste.
Waste is generally categorized as:
- Recyclable: glass, metals, cardboard, paper, wood, plastics, textiles…
- Biodegradable organic waste or bio-waste: green waste, food organic waste…
- Mixed: such as household waste
The management of non-hazardous waste specifically involves choosing waste treatment methods that adhere to the waste treatment hierarchy:
- Preparation for reuse;
- Recycling;
- Any other recovery, particularly energy recovery;
- Disposal.
In this context, source separation of non-hazardous waste is mandatory.
8 waste streams:
Source separation obligations were extended by Decree No. 2021-950 of July 16, 2021, for construction and demolition waste, to include mineral fraction waste (concrete, bricks, tiles and ceramics, stones) and plaster.
Non-hazardous paper/cardboard, metal, plastic, glass, and wood waste considered construction and demolition waste are also subject to these obligations.
Producers or holders of these "7 stream" wastes must collect them separately from other waste to allow for subsequent sorting and recovery. However, they may be kept together in a mixed state, provided they are subsequently recovered without affecting the recovery efficiency comparable to that achieved through separate collection of each waste stream.
These source separation provisions do not apply to:
- Small producers, i.e., those who produce less than 1100 liters of waste per week. Note that if, at the same site, several producers/holders are served by the same waste management service provider and collectively produce more than 1100 liters, they then fall within the scope.
- For producers and holders of construction and demolition waste, for waste produced on their sites meeting one of the following conditions:
- It is not possible to allocate an area of at least 40 m2 on the construction site for waste storage;
- The total volume of waste generated over the entire duration of the site work, all waste combined, is less than 10 m3.
Producers and holders of this '7-stream' waste must either:
- Undertake the recovery of this waste themselves;
- Transfer this waste to the operator of a recovery facility;
- Transfer this waste to an intermediary carrying out waste collection, transport, trading, or brokerage activities for the purpose of its recovery.
In these last two cases, producers or holders receive annually, before March 31, from the operators of the recovery facility or intermediaries carrying out waste collection, transport, trading, or brokerage activities, a certificate (paper or electronic) stating the quantities in tonnes, the nature of the waste, and the final recovery destination of the waste entrusted to them the previous year. The format of this certificate is defined in a model set by the decree of December 21, 2021.
It should be noted that from January 1, 2025, the obligation for source sorting will be extended to textile waste, and at that point, all this waste will be referred to as '8-stream' waste.
Bio-waste
Until now, only companies producing or holding waste cooking oils or other bio-waste in quantities exceeding certain thresholds set by regulations* (10 tonnes per year for bio-waste and 60 L per year for oils) are required to ensure source sorting for their recovery.
From January 1, 2023, this obligation will apply to all producers and holders of bio-waste (excluding waste cooking oil) producing more than 5 tonnes of bio-waste per year.
Then from December 31, 2023, this obligation will apply to all producers and holders of bio-waste (excluding waste cooking oil), regardless of the quantity.
Note that for a company producing or holding bio-waste across multiple sites or establishments, the threshold is assessed based on the quantities produced or held at each site or by each establishment.
A decree dated March 15, 2022 specifies the compostable, methanizable, and biodegradable packaging and waste that can be collected with source-separated biowaste, namely:
- Biowaste collection bags made solely of paper or cardboard that meet the characterization and composition requirements defined in this decree;
- Biowaste collection bags made of plastic, and potentially with a paper or cardboard component, that meet all the requirements defined in this decree;
- Paper coffee filters and their contents, paper tea and herbal tea bags and their contents;
- Coffee capsules and pods composed of at least 95% paper, meeting all the requirements defined in this decree;
- Paper tissues, napkins, and paper towels;
- The following household organic waste: withered flowers, hair, nails, pet feathers and fur.
Biowaste recovery can be carried out directly by the producer or holder or entrusted to a third party, after separate collection when recovery is not performed at the production site.
The biowaste collection or recovery facility must submit annually before March 31 a certificate (paper or electronic) stating the quantities, the nature of the waste separately collected the previous year, and its final recovery destination. The format of this certificate is not defined by regulation.
Phased ban on landfilling of non-hazardous non-inert waste
Landfilling of waste is the method of waste treatment to be avoided as much as possible; it should be reserved for "ultimate" waste for which no other recovery is possible. National landfill reduction targets have been set, including prohibitions on the admission of non-hazardous non-inert waste to waste storage facilities (excluding residual household waste):
This prohibition does not apply to certain types of waste. This includes, for example:
- Waste for which material recovery is prohibited (waste containing persistent organic pollutants, etc.);
- Non-recoverable waste resulting from waste recovery operations or production processes;
- Animal carcasses and by-products and their derived products;
- Non-hazardous non-inert waste produced by preparation activities for reuse, recycling, any other recovery, as well as sorting residues derived from them when they result from separate collection and meet performance criteria, etc.
A decree sets out the justification procedures for disposing of non-hazardous, non-inert waste in storage facilities. Consequently, producers of non-hazardous waste not managed by the local public waste management service can only dispose of it in non-hazardous, non-inert waste storage facilities if they demonstrate compliance with sorting obligations.
To this end, the waste producer must submit annually to the operator of the storage facility:
- An annual waste characterization report for waste brought to the facility. Its preparation is the responsibility of the waste producer/holder but can be entrusted to the facility operator or a laboratory if they possess the required technical expertise.
- A sworn statement signed by the legal representatives of the waste producers concerned, including:
- The list of their sorting obligations (wood, glass, metals, cardboard/paper, plastics, biowaste, mineral fractions, plaster, and textiles; everyday consumer products; for public access buildings (ERPs): household packaging waste consisting mainly of plastic, steel, aluminum, paper, or cardboard, as well as printed paper waste and graphic paper waste, on the one hand, and biowaste, on the other hand);
- A description of the elements demonstrating compliance with these obligations, including the list of separate collection systems implemented and the associated sorting instructions.
The waste producer's sworn statement must be submitted, prior to the reception of any waste for the current year, by the producer or, when the waste is brought to the facility by a holder other than the producer, by the latter. For the year 2022, the statement must be submitted before June 30, 2022.
Case of Public Access Buildings (ERPs)
Operators of public access buildings producing more than 1,100 liters of waste, all types combined, per week, must organize the separate collection of waste from the public received in their establishments by providing the public with separate collection systems for household packaging waste consisting mainly of plastic, steel, aluminum, paper, or cardboard, as well as printed paper waste and graphic paper waste, on the one hand, and biowaste, on the other hand.
Waste from everyday consumer products
Law No. 2020-105 of February 10, 2021, introduced the obligation to sort waste generated by staff consumption of everyday consumer products, such as cans, cups, small packaging, bottles, etc.
In this regard, every waste producer or holder must implement separate waste collection systems in their establishments, adapted to the different activities carried out in their establishments and, where relevant, accessible to staff, to enable source sorting, including for waste generated by staff consumption of everyday consumer products.
Finally, even though this waste is not hazardous waste, it is nonetheless subject to traceability obligations including the registration of shipments and treatment channels in the waste register. To assist you with all these potentially complex procedures, you can rely on a waste management software such as Tennaxia's.
*Order of July 12, 2011 JORF n°0169
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