Alert on recycling in France, due to the decline in collection

The recycling industry finds itself at a crossroads. Despite the energy crisis, the players developed last year. But their federation does not hide its concern this Wednesday for the year 2023, noting the drop in prices of raw materials from recycling as well as the decline in collection.

In 2022, the sector's turnover increased by 7.7% compared to 2021, to 11.6 billion euros, driven by the rise in prices, according to an annual report published by the Federation of Companies of the recycling (Federec) at the Pollutec exhibition. “Companies generally maintained their turnover by passing on certain additional charges that occurred in 2022, but their net results fell because they had to absorb the increase in costs (energy, transport, etc.)”, indicates Manuel Burnand, the general director of the organization.

A total of 39.8 million tonnes of raw materials from recycling were produced and sold (metals, wood, paper and cardboard, glass, plastics, solvents, building waste, etc.). The recycling of scrap metal for example (11.6 million tonnes) represented 1,149 Eiffel Towers. All of this made it possible to avoid emitting 24 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent (equivalent to the annual emissions of air transport in France), notes the report.

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But for 2023, “the first three quarters confirm the decline trend with a reduction in collection and a drop in the prices of raw materials from recycling,” Federec President François Excoffier told AFP, who also deplores “the legislative tsunami” imposed on the sector with the simultaneous reorganization imposed on several sectors. Concern prevails in particular in the metal and non-ferrous metals sector, which anticipates a lack of outlets.

The plastics sector is facing a collapse in demand for recycled materials, with clients (particularly in the field of packaging) preferring virgin materials, the prices of which have fallen with the fall in the price of a barrel of oil. . For textiles, faced with “the average quality of the material collected, degraded by fast and ultra-fast fashion”, recyclers are calling on the sector's eco-organization to “impose strict requirements eco-design with marketers so as not to slow down the recovery processes. It also needs to improve collection (still between 65 and 70% in household waste), sorting capacities and outlets.

The sector, which employs 34,400 people (5.5%), 91% on permanent contracts, has 1,200 companies. It calls for significantly increased investments (20% compared to 2021), to 656 million euros in 2022, to modernize and decarbonize trucks and sorting tools.