A widespread legal obligation
Since January 1, 2024, selective sorting of waste at source has been a legal obligation for all French companies, whatever their sector of activity. Whether you’re a manufacturing company, a factory, a service company or just an office, you’re affected by these regulations.
This obligation comes against a backdrop of growing environmental awareness and of tighter regulations on waste management in France. With France still lagging far behind some of its European neighbors in terms of sorting and recycling, the public authorities have decided to tighten requirements for all economic players.
In concrete terms, your company must set up separate collection systems for different types of waste : paper, plastic, glass, metals, wood, bio-waste, and even edible oils if you produce or hold more than 60 liters per year. This sorting equipment must be accessible to all your staff.
If your establishment is also open to the public, you’ll also need to offer your visitors sorting facilities, at least for household packaging, printed paper and biowaste. Food superstores of over 2,500 m² are even required to install a take-back point for packaging waste at the checkout.
Environmental and economic challenges
This obligation to sort waste at source meets several major challenges for society and for your company itself.
From an environmental point of view, sorting and recycling waste considerably reduces its impact on the environment. Rather than being landfilled or incinerated,materials can be reintroduced into production circuits, avoiding the waste of natural resources. It is an essential lever for achieving the waste reduction and circular economy targets set by the public authorities.
Beyond these environmental challenges, waste sorting also has direct economic benefits for your company. Optimized waste management reduces collection and treatment costs, which can be a major burden for companies. What’s more, the recovery of certain types of waste, through recycling or energy production, can even generate additional income.
Finally, a commitment to waste sorting and recycling can also be an asset in terms of corporate social responsibility. Consumers, partners and investors are increasingly aware of environmental issues, and expect companies to take concrete action in favor of sustainable development.
A few exceptions to selective sorting
However, the law provides for certain exceptions to the selective sorting obligation. Companies with no more than 20 employees and producing only office paper waste are exempt. Similarly, waste already recovered internally, through recycling or energy production, need not be sorted.
Specific provisions also exist for certain types of waste, such as construction and demolition waste, hazardous waste and waste subject to extended producer responsibility (EPR). For example, pruning waste that is used for energy purposes (as fuel) is exempt from sorting.
Penalties for non-compliance
Failure to comply with these selective sorting obligations can result in severe penalties. Companies can be fined up to €3,750 for legal entities. Prison sentences of up to 4 years and fines of up to€750,000 are even envisaged in the most serious cases.
The town hall or prefecture can also order an audit of your company to check that you are complying with your waste sorting obligations. In the event of a proven breach, you could be exposed to substantial financial and criminal penalties.
Implement selective sorting in your company
Faced with these environmental and regulatory challenges, companies have no choice but to adapt and put in place the necessary systems to properly sort their waste.
. This begins with éa precise inventory of the different types of waste produced in your company. An initial diagnosis will enable you to identify the most important flows and size the sorting equipment to be installed.
You’ll then need tochoose the collection methods best suited to your organization : bins, containers, voluntary drop-off points, etc. You’ll also need to train all your staff in the correct sorting techniques, to ensure the system’s effectiveness.
Finally, you’ll need to get in touch with the recycling and recovery channels for sorted waste, to ensure that it is disposed of properly. Some specialist companies offer turnkey services to facilitate this waste management.
Long-term benefits
Of course, implementing selective sorting in your company requires a certain investment, in terms of time, organization and sometimes even budget. But this approach has many long-term benefits that make it a strategic issue for your company.
In addition to complying with regulations and avoiding penalties, sorting and recycling waste will help youreduce your waste management costs. You can also recover some of your waste, by reintroducing it into production circuits or using it as fuel.
In terms of corporate social responsibility,your commitment to sorting and recycling will also set you apart from your customers, partners and investors. De plus en plus sensibles aux questions environnementales, ils attendent des entreprises qu’elles s’engagent concrètement en faveur du développement durable.
Last but not least, getting your employees involved in this selective sorting initiative can also have benefits in terms of team mobilization and cohesion. This can be an opportunity to raise their awareness of environmental issues and make them more responsible.
A major challenge for all companies
Faced with these multiple challenges, the selective sorting of waste has become a legal obligation and a strategic issue for all French companies, whatever their size or sector of activity.
Beyond simply complying with regulations, this approach offers many environmental, economic and image benefits for your company. It’s an essential lever for making a concrete commitment to ecological transition and asserting your social responsibility.
Of course, the introduction of selective sorting requires a certain initial investment. But the long-term benefits, in terms of cost reduction, waste recovery and improved image, make this a major challenge not to be overlooked. It’s a challenge that all companies today must rise to.
Similarly, for your unused material resources, you can opt for a circular economy approach. To find out more, click here : https://circularplace.fr/
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