The French are increasingly sorting their waste

French households produce slightly more waste than before, but a greater proportion of it is sorted and "recovered." This is according to a study published by the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) on Wednesday, June 4. In 2021, individuals threw away 41 million tons of waste in mainland France and Réunion. This represents 615 kg—the weight of a small passenger vehicle—of waste per capita, a slight increase of 4% in ten years.

However, the reduction targets have not been met. The 2015 law on energy transition for green growth set a target of reducing the total volume of waste per capita by 10% between 2010 and 2020, and by 15% by 2030.

Ordinary household waste thrown into the grey bin represents 40% of household waste. So-called "sorted" waste includes recyclable materials from the yellow bin (20%), green waste and biowaste (14%), bulky items (13%), debris and rubble taken to the recycling centre (11%), and, to a lesser extent, hazardous waste (2%).

"Household waste, however, only represents a part of the volume of waste produced in France (310 million tonnes in 2020), the majority being generated by businesses, particularly in the construction sector," INSEE underlines.

Double good news for the climate: on the one hand, the general waste thrown into the grey bin has decreased by 14% compared to 2011, and on the other hand, this non-recyclable waste is increasingly being recovered. Thirty percent of it is incinerated, a stable proportion, but "incineration is now carried out almost exclusively with energy recovery" , notably to produce electricity, the note underlines.

The decrease in the volume of "grey bins" has logically translated into an increase in sorted waste, whether collected in yellow bins or taken to recycling centers. Their volume has increased by 21%. In reality, if the French are sorting more, it's also because new laws require them to do so: since 2023, sorting has been mandatory for all paper, cardboard, glass, metals, plastics, and textiles. They now represent 126 kg per inhabitant.

Since 2024, biowaste (food waste and green waste) is, in principle, mandatory to be sorted. Those who used to burn their green waste at home must now take it to a recycling center. It is increasingly being transformed into compost or, through methanization, into renewable energy.

There remain bulky items, debris and rubble, and other types of waste (hazardous waste, electrical or electronic equipment, etc.). Their volume is smaller, but they are growing at a faster rate. Thanks to better separation of materials, their recovery rate continues to increase, and some of them are recycled or even reused.

The wealthier a household, the more waste it produces. Residents of detached houses generate more waste, often related to maintaining their homes or gardens. Moreover, regions rich in tourism and second homes also produce more waste: 720 kg per year per inhabitant in Corsica, compared to 450 kg in Île-de-France. Tourists add to the waste on the Isle of Beauty, as their waste is attributed to the much smaller permanent population. Coastal departments generally follow the same logic and often produce more waste than others, a surplus generated in part by their occasional visitors.

Finally, INSEE notes that "the departments affected by incentive pricing, particularly in the Grand Est, Pays de la Loire and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, are characterized by lower collections."