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C o m p a n y p r o f i l e

This acquisition ‘will create excellent synergies

and raise the metal recycling capacity of Veolia

Environmental Services in France from 250 000

tonnes per year to over 1 million tonnes per

year’, according to Mr Le Conte. The Bartin

Recycling Group specialises in the collection

and processing of ferrous and non-ferrous

metals, handling some 780 000 tonnes per

annum and generating revenues of around

Euro 250 million (US$ 390 million) in 2006.

Mr Gasquet hails the acquisition as ‘an impor-

tant step in the roll-out of our strategy’ and one

which ‘strengthens our capabilities and capaci-

ties in the recycling of metals at a time when

these raw materials are of growing importance

in tense international markets’. The purchase

hands VES a ready-made commercial structure

and high-quality processing equipment located

mainly in the central and northern regions of

France and in the Greater Paris area.

The company also has a strong metals pres-

ence outside of France. In Norway, for exam-

ple, VES operates two shredding and shearing

units for treating end-of-life vehicles as well

as metal alloys derived from incinerated waste

streams. Their annual recycled steel produc-

tion is roughly 100 000 tonnes. A third unit

specialises in recycling cables. One of the

company’s more unusual ventures in this

country involved the recovery and recycling

of obsolete farm equipment, including trac-

tors, threshers, ploughs and trucks from some

ten different counties. An estimated 15 000

tonnes of material was collected and then

subjected to further treatment such as dis-

mantling, remediation and shredding.

Other recycling arenas
An even more recent acquisition illustrates

VES’ ambitions in other recycling arenas. The

company confirmed this spring that it had

bought C&C Recycling: this UK-based paper

recycling firm processes more than 70 000

tonnes of paper and cardboard a year, as well

as offering wood waste, plastic packaging and

general office waste disposal services. Accord-

ing to Veolia, the acquisition is ‘in line with its

approach of building a nationwide network

of strategically located commercial recycling

facilities in the UK’.

Other paper recycling initiatives from Veolia

include its MOTUS confidential document col-

lection and shredding service, with total trace-

ability and monitoring via extranet reporting.

This patented system is said to be unique in

France and was tested on key accounts in 2006

before being deployed in 2007.

WEEE treatment resources
VES has also established a major presence in

the waste from electrical and electronic equip-

ment (WEEE) market, both in France and

further afield.

In tonnage terms, it handles an estimated 20%

of France’s large cooling household appliances

and 40% of its mixed small household appli-

ances. Among the facilities established to han-

dle this material is a unit at Gonesse, Île-de-

France, which focuses on dismantling the

smaller appliances. ‘Besides limiting the need

for manual intervention, the system has a

granulator that allows very high quality end-

of-line products to be offered for recycling,

with a global recovery rate of up to 90%,’ VES

explains. ‘In 2006, 10 000 tonnes of WEEE were

treated in Gonesse. Eventually, the site will be

able to collect and treat 25 000 tonnes a year.’

The unit at Gonesse ‘illustrates how principles

used for municipal packaging can be applied

to WEEE’. Manual intervention is limited to

the extraction of electrical cables and some

accessories or consumables such as vacuum

cleaner bags and copier/printer cartridges.

Treatment in a drum reduces the materials to

small fractions which are then subjected to

three sorting systems: electro-magnet capture

of ferrous metals; Foucault power separation

to isolate non-ferrous metals; and densito-

metric table separation of the remaining

material into light and heavy fractions which

are then sorted manually. ‘Residue that can-

not currently be recycled essentially compris-

es plastic material, partly owing to the pres-

ence of brominated flame retardants,’ Veolia

adds. ‘This constitutes a research axis for Veo-

lia, which aims to improve on the current per-

centage material recovery of 90%.’

Françoise Weber, Director of Recycling at

Veolia Environmental Services Île-de-France,

comments: ‘Volumes are high, but the prod-

ucts are very diverse and certain low-value

materials present great management con-

straints.’ For example, full dismantling of a

flat screen demands nearly two hours’ work

although, as VES adds, ‘better eco-design will

hopefully reduce this time’.

New WEEE processing plant
Veolia’s annual WEEE treatment capacity in

France is set to increase to an estimated 50 000

tonnes with the unveiling of a recovery plant

at Angers in the west of France to treat house-

hold appliances both large and small, as well

Denis Gasquet, CEO of Veolia
Environmental Services.
(Photo: Veoilia, Cedric Helsky)

Jérôme Le Conte, CEO of Veolia
Environmental Services France.
(Photo: Veoilia, Cedric Helsky)

Dismantling of an oil rig of oil company TOTAL.
(Photo: Veolia, Christophe Majani d’Inguimbert)

VES has established a major presence in the e-scrap waste market,
both in France and further afield.
(Photo: Veolia, Christophe Majani d’Inguimbert)

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