Collecting, sorting, recycling and recovering waste

We are involved at every stage of the waste lifecycle, from collection to final treatment, and we prioritise waste recovery. The aim? Promote the circular economy as a way to protect natural resources.
Sorting & recycling

We are the global leader in managing solid, liquid, hazardous and non-hazardous waste, and we develop innovative solutions for boosting waste recycling and recovery rates, both as new material and energy. 
 

We collect waste

Household waste, non-hazardous industrial waste and commercial waste, construction waste, organic and plant waste, liquid and/or hazardous waste, office waste: the many different types of waste mean that collecting them is a major logistical challenge.

We offer multiple collection solutions to match our customers’ local priorities and economic realities. Waste of the same type is taken to our collection centers where it is compacted before being sent to the appropriate site for sorting or treating.

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We recover material from waste

What are our waste recovery solutions? Waste is first transported to one of our specialized sorting centers. Selectively collected household waste and non-hazardous commercial and industrial waste is sent to our high-performance sorting centers.

We use a range of patented processes, such as auto-adaptive sequential sorting, to achieve recovery rates as high as 95%. Recovered waste is then transformed into secondary raw materials for industry. We also recycle complex waste such as batteries and circuit boards.

 

 

We transform waste into energy


How does energy recovery from waste work? Non-hazardous waste that cannot be recyclable is transported to our incineration plants or landfill sites.

  • Incineration creates energy in the form of steam. This is either supplied to district heating networks or industry, or is used to power turbines that convert it into electricity. The electricity is then fed into the national power distribution network.
  • We capture biogas generated by the fermentation of organic waste at our landfill sites. Biogas can be fed directly into a gas distribution network, used to power turbines or engines to generate electricity, or serve as vehicle fuel.

We transform waste into compost

We recover sludge from sewage treatment plants and we recycle green waste and organic waste from homes and the hospitality industry, the food industry and agriculture via our specialist organic waste subsidiaries.

Waste is processed via controlled composting or by anaerobic digestion at methanization plants. The compost produced is used as fertiliser in agriculture, and the methane generated by fermentation is recovered in the same way as biogas from landfill sites.

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We treat hazardous waste

With our specialist subsidiaries, we are one of the world leaders in soil remediation and the treatment, recycling and recovery of hazardous waste.

Depending on its origin and exact composition, hazardous waste can be incinerated, subjected to physicochemical treatments at specialist centers, or stabilised then buried at designated underground storage sites.

 

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Contact us

Contact us

Ready to take control of your waste and recycling? Contact Veolia today to discuss how we can help you create a sustainable future for your business or community.