FRENCH POLICY FOR WASTE TREATMENT

Jean-Claude Oppeneau

International Affaires, ADEME – Environment and Energy Management Agency

French environmental policy is today acknowledged to be among the most stringent, due to regulations that have become steadily stricter since 1971. This context is in keeping with a long established tradition regarding pollution. One of the first government regulations on industrial installations was a decree signed in 1810 by Napoleon, and which has been continually amended since 1917. Today we are moving away from the notion of "end-of-pipe" treatment, cleaning up pollution via various devices that generally intervene at the end of a process, to upstream prevention that can make the industrial system compatible with the equilibrium of biological ecosystems (sustainable development).

Today's regulations set forth the conditions that must be met by factories and facilities that present a potential threat to the environment (impacts or hazards). Depending on the level of danger or amount of pollution involved, installations are either "classified", i.e. subject to authorization, or simply required to make a declaration concerning their activity. After a public inquiry and an impact study, authorization is granted by the central government representative at the regional level (i.e. the prefect, appointed by the central government; the equivalent of "governor" in some countries). This authorization stipulates the thresholds that must be respected by the operator to limit the environmental impacts of the activity. This authorization stipulates the thresholds that must be respected by the operator to limit the environmental impacts of the activity. In some cases further restrictions may be imposed if the manufacturing process uses highly toxic products or if the site is fragile. These measures constitute an incentive to adopt new less-polluting technologies or increasingly efficient processes. These stipulations apply to existing installations as well as to new ones. In 1998, 63,063 installations were subject to authorization in France, 8.400 subject to special fees and 1.023 listed as potentially dangerous. A total of 1.325 inspectors are employed to inspect classified installations and draw up reports that are used to establish administrative and legal sanctions.

Furthermore the authorization granted might call for a more stringent degree of environmental protection than that required by national regulations and European Union directives. Regardless of the type of pollution generated by different types of factories, the company subject to authorization must meet the stated requirements: this applies to waste processing facilities, both landfills and thermal treatment facilities, all stationary point sources of pollution, coal, fuel-oil, gas-fired power plants, chemical plants, refineries, surface treatment, steel industry, etc.

In order to promote an effective policy management that addresses health concerns and sustainable development issues, a detailed waste inventory must be drawn up, covering both household and industrial wastes, their composition and fluctuations according to season, location and lifestyles. The waste inventory must be established as rigorously and as accurately as possible, using proven methods (such a methodology is available at ADEME).

French solid waste management policy was first codified in the 1975 Solid Waste Act, the first phase in implementing modern management of waste treatment.

This legislation was based on the following new principles:

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