Plastics sorting and recycling in France

The recycling of plastic packaging is now subject to a rapidly evolving European regulatory framework, notably the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which sets targets for recyclability, the incorporation of recycled material, reduction and reuse.

In France, these targets are implemented through extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes, which rely on a collective system for the collection, sorting, recycling and valorisation of packaging. In this context, COTREP supports manufacturers by providing recommendations aimed at improving the recyclability of plastic packaging and ensuring it is suitable for recycling streams.
COTREP’s recommendations reflect the reality of the industry and are therefore based on the operations of sorting and recycling plants that process French waste streams.

This page is intended to present the various stages in a simplified manner; for further details, please refer to the COTREP guide on recyclability.

Step 1: household waste sorting

Since 1992, French people have been able to sort certain types of packaging separately: paper and cardboard packaging, metal packaging, as well as plastic bottles and containers.

Since 2011, as part of the initiative to expand sorting instructions, an increasing number of French people have been able to sort pots, trays and plastic film.

In 2019, 23 million French people were covered by this extension and were able to sort all types of packaging. By 2025, 99 % of the French population will be able to sort all plastic packaging.

General sorting process in sorting facilities. Source: COTREP

Step 2: sorting in sorting facilities

The project to expand recycling guidelines required the modernisation and reorganisation of the network of sorting centres. To date, France has moved from 260 centres – some of which were dilapidated – to 115 modern centres equipped with various technologies to separate different types of packaging. Several stages take place in the sorting centres:

– Ballistic separation: Packaging is sorted according to its size and shape. Depending on how it behaves, the packaging is directed towards the flat items (bags, film, etc.) or the hollow items (bottles, jars, trays, etc.).

– Metals separation: Packaging made wholly or partly of metal is separated: ferrous metals on one side, non-ferrous metals on the other.
Plastic packaging containing metal components (steel or aluminium) may be sorted with plastics or metals depending on the amount of metal and the machine settings; it should therefore be avoided.

– Optical sorting: Optical sorting is a technology that enables sorting by material, as well as colour-based sorting where necessary.
Material sorting is carried out using near-infrared (NIR) technology, which detects and separates the different plastic resins.
Colour sorting is carried out using a camera operating in the visible spectrum (VIS) and is mainly applied to the PET stream to separate, for example, a clear stream (transparent and bluish packaging) from a coloured stream.

– Manual sorting: The human eye remains essential to ensure the high quality of materials sorted at the output of sorting centres.

– Baling: The various streams of sorted plastics are compressed into bales to facilitate and optimise their transport to:

  • recycling facilities
  • or pre-sorting centres: rigid packaging, which forms part of the streams under development, is sent to pre-sorting centres to prepare the new streams for dispatch to various recycling facilities.

 

 

COCET, a technical committee dedicated to studying the behaviour of packaging in sorting centres

Since the extension of sorting instructions in France, the arrival of several different streams of packaging at sorting centres has posed numerous challenges, and the need to better understand these issues has become increasingly clear. COCET was therefore established in 2021 to study the sorting behaviour of household packaging, regardless of the materials from which it is made.

As sortability is a mandatory criterion for determining whether packaging is recyclable, COCET and COTREP work in a complementary manner: COCET issues opinions on the sortability of packaging, which COTREP takes into account when issuing its recommendations.

To find out more about packaging sorting, please visit the COCET website: https://www.cocet.fr/ 

 

Step 3: mechanical recycling

Packaging collected and sorted at sorting and re-sorting centres is sent to existing recycling facilities. A plastics recycling plant is an industrial site that carries out at least two of the following operations: washing, shredding, densification, micronisation, pelletisation and compounding.

From the bales of material received by the regenerators, recycled material is produced through several stages:

– Opening of bales: Packaging bales are inspected and then opened to unpack the packaging items.

– Optical sorting & metals sorting: As in sorting centres, plastic recycling plants are equipped with optical sorters and metal detectors to carry out a further sorting process and remove unwanted materials.

– Shredding: The packaging is then shredded into flakes measuring approximately one centimetre. The presence of non-plastic items (glass beads, metal parts) can damage the equipment.

– Washing: The flakes are washed to remove particles and residues (labels, adhesives, inks, dirt, etc.)
Water washing conditions:

  • PET: 60–90 °C in alkaline conditions
  • PE/PP/PS: water at room temperature

Depending on the inks, pigments or adhesives used, particles may interfere with the recycling process or contaminate the wash water.

– Flotation: The flakes are separated according to their density; those with a density higher than 1 sink, and those with a density lower than 1 float. For a PET regenerator (d>1), it is the material that sinks that is of particular interest; for polyolefin (PE or PP) regenerators, it is the material that floats that is of interest.

– Optical sorting of flakes: Some regenerators are equipped with optical sorting equipment that allows the flakes to be sorted according to material type and colour.

– Extrusion / Granulation: Some regenerators can carry out an extrusion/granulation stage, which involves heating the flakes together. The melted material thus produced then passes through a die to form strands, which are cut into small pieces. These are known as plastic pellets and can be used directly in plastics processing.

 

General process of plastic regeneration. Source: COTREP

The recycled material is then reincorporated into new products.

Step 4: the use of recycled material into new products

Today, mechanical recycling is the predominant method in Europe. The applications of recycled polymers vary depending on their mechanical properties, colour, availability, and whether or not they can be incorporated into products suitable for food contact.

There are therefore different market opportunities depending on the types of packaging processed.

For example, it is possible to produce new PET bottles from clear PET bottles, or to produce automotive components from rigid PE packaging.

Mechanical and/or chemical recycling solutions are being investigated for emerging sectors. The intended applications for the recycled material mainly involve its reuse in packaging, particularly for clear multi-layer PET trays and for coloured single-layer and multi-layer PET trays.

Details of the market opportunities for each type of packaging are available in the COTREP guide.

Encouraging the development of new outlets: the challenges of clear plastics

The outlets for recycled plastics depends significantly on the final properties of the regenerated plastics, especially the colour.

When coloured (especially dark) packaging is recycled, it often leads to darker coloured recycled plastics with limited outlets. Furthermore, de-inking processes are not in widespread use today, given how ineffective they are for packaging that is mass-dyed or has printed matter on it.

However, using clear or colourless plastic and reducing the amount of ink used to a minimum are an excellent way to meet the expectations of manufacturers and develop new outlets for recycled plastics. For example, higher added value applications, such as manufacturing new packaging, in anticipation of the PPWR.

That’s why regenerators advocate using clear or neutral colours, as well as elements that don’t have a lasting impact on the colour of the recycled plastic (such as metallised surface decoration, metallised inks, dark colorants, etc.). This design choice contributes directly to opening up recycling possibilities and strengthening the circularity of plastic packaging.