Waste — traceability and sorting obligations (France)
A list of checks and obligations with their cadence, ready to add to your agenda.
For any French business or public body producing, holding or dispatching professional waste, hazardous or not. Covers the chronological waste register, the digital tracking slip on Trackdéchets, national register submissions, source separation (7 streams, biowaste), specific EPR schemes (professional WEEE, waste oils) and the annual GEREP waste return. Does NOT cover ICPE waste-treatment permits, ADR transport rules, or construction-site waste specifics (PEMD diagnosis).
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- 11 planned checks, the most frequent every year by 31 March
Planned checks
Informative summary verified on 12/09/2026. It does not replace legal advice: the regulation cited prevails. If you spot an error, report it.
Some checks are only mandatory in certain countries: pick yours and the list follows.
In Italy this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
- 01
Claim the annual recovery attestation by 31 March
The provider collecting the separated streams must deliver to the producer, before 31 March, an attestation stating tonnages, waste nature and final recovery destination for the previous year, using the template of the 18 July 2018 order. Chase it and keep it as proof of compliance with the sorting duty. Applies to producers and holders of professional waste subject to the 7-stream sorting duty.
every year by 31 MarchLegal obligationCode de l'environnement art. D543-284 ; arrêté du 18 juillet 2018France onlySourceverified on 11/09/2026 - 02
Send batteries and accumulators to the dedicated EPR channel
Used batteries and accumulators — from defibrillators, emergency luminaires, detectors and power tools — do not belong in ordinary waste or in the undifferentiated WEEE stream: they have their own extended producer responsibility channel. When an equivalent device or battery is bought, the distributor must take the old one back free of charge under the "one for one" principle; otherwise the channel’s collection points are used. The holder remains responsible until hand-over, which in a business is recorded in the chronological waste register.
continuous check, confirm every 12 monthsLegal obligationCode de l'environnement — filières REP piles et accumulateurs et DEEEFrance onlySourceverified on 12/09/2026 - 03
Route professional WEEE to the dedicated EPR scheme
End-of-life professional electrical and electronic equipment must be handed to the producer or placer on the market, or to its eco-organisation, which arranges collection and treatment at its own cost; the holder must nevertheless trigger the scheme and keep the evidence. Proof: the take-back slip or attestation from the eco-organisation or approved provider. Applies to professional holders of WEEE, bearing in mind that hazardous WEEE (containing fluids, cathode ray tubes, batteries) still requires a tracking slip on Trackdéchets. Cadence to be confirmed on the cited source.
continuous check, confirm every 12 monthsLegal obligationCode de l'environnement art. R543-195 et suivantsFrance onlySource - 04
Keep the chronological waste register
Record at each movement the production, dispatch, receipt and treatment of waste with the data required by the 31 May 2021 order: waste code, quantity, destination, carrier, facility and treatment operation. Proof is the register, which may be electronic and must be kept at least 3 years; since 1 January 2022 its scope also covers excavated soil and sediments. Applies to operators of establishments producing or dispatching waste, collectors, carriers, dealers, brokers and operators of transit, grouping or treatment facilities; households are exempt.
continuous check, confirm every 1 monthsLegal obligationCode de l'environnement art. R541-43 ; arrêté du 31 mai 2021France onlySourceverified on 11/09/2026 - 05
Issue the electronic tracking slip on Trackdéchets for hazardous waste
Anyone producing hazardous waste or POP waste issues an electronic waste tracking slip in the national Trackdéchets platform before the waste leaves the site and follows it through to acceptance by the treatment facility. Proof is the fully signed electronic slip; the monthly check exists to confirm no slip is left open. Applies to producers of hazardous or POP waste, small-quantity collectors, those who have reconditioned or transformed such waste and holders of waste whose producer is unknown, mandatory since 1 January 2022 with specific dates for asbestos, refrigerants and end-of-life vehicles.
continuous check, confirm every 1 monthsLegal obligationCode de l'environnement art. R541-45 ; décret n° 2021-321 du 25 mars 2021 ; arrêtés du 21 décembre 2021France onlySourceverified on 11/09/2026 - 06
Separate biowaste at source and send it to recovery
Every producer or holder of biowaste (food and kitchen waste, green waste) separates it at source and recovers it, either on site through composting or via a separate collection contract. Proof: the collection contract or documentation of the on-site composting installation. Applies since 1 January 2024 to all biowaste producers whatever their annual volume, and concerns in particular catering, retail, food processing, canteens and grounds maintenance.
continuous check, confirm every 12 monthsLegal obligationCode de l'environnement art. L541-21-1 (tri à la source des biodéchets) et art. L541-1-1 (définition) ; loi n° 2020-105 du 10 février 2020 (AGEC)France onlySourceverified on 11/09/2026 - 07
Transmit data to the national waste register (RNDTS / Trackdéchets)
Operators subject to the reporting duty upload the content of their chronological register to the national register: within 7 days of the triggering event for hazardous and POP waste, by the last day of the month following the triggering event for excavated soil and sediments. Proof is the platform submission receipt; the service moved from RNDTS to Trackdéchets on 5 May 2025. Applies mainly to operators of hazardous and non-inert waste treatment facilities and to producers or holders of excavated soil and sediments, while ordinary producers of hazardous waste largely discharge the duty through tracking slips.
continuous check, confirm every 1 monthsLegal obligationCode de l'environnement art. R541-43 et R541-43-1 ; arrêté du 31 mai 2021France onlySourceverified on 11/09/2026 - 08
Have waste oils collected through the EPR scheme
A professional holder of used mineral or synthetic oils stores them separately, without mixing them with other waste, and requests collection from a collector registered with the scheme's eco-organisation. Proof: the collection slip and the tracking slip, as waste oils are hazardous waste. Applies to natural and legal persons who accumulate used oils on their premises as a result of their professional activity, such as garages, industry, farming and transport. Cadence to be confirmed on the cited source.
continuous check, confirm every 12 monthsLegal obligationCode de l'environnement art. R543-3 et suivants ; décret n° 2021-1069 du 11 août 2021France onlySource - 09
Handle withdrawn extinguishers as hazardous waste
The event that triggers this control is the withdrawal or replacement of an extinguisher. The withdrawn device is a pressure vessel containing dangerous substances and falls under waste code 16 05 04*: it must be degassed and dismantled by an authorised operator, never put into household waste or generic scrap metal. The waste producer remains responsible until hand-over and applies the traceability required for hazardous waste, including the consignment note.
continuous check, confirm every 12 monthsLegal obligationCode de l'environnement art. R541-8 et nomenclature des déchets — code 16 05 04*France onlySourceverified on 12/09/2026 - 10
Declare waste in GEREP by 31 March
Establishments within scope declare in the GEREP portal the quantities of hazardous and non-hazardous waste produced in the previous year, with codes, destinations and treatment routes; in practice a single GEREP return covers several sections. Proof is the submission receipt. Applies to establishments in Annex I of the 31 January 2008 order (ICPE under authorisation or registration and others) exceeding the thresholds of 2 t/year of hazardous waste or 2,000 t/year of non-hazardous waste.
every year by 31 MarchLegal obligationArrêté du 31 janvier 2008 art. 4 et art. 7 ; Code de l'environnement art. R512-46France onlySourceverified on 11/09/2026 - 11
Separate the 7 professional waste streams at source
Separate paper/cardboard, metal, plastic, glass, wood, mineral fractions and plaster and hand them to a separate collection for recovery. Proof: per-stream collection contracts and annual recovery attestations. Applies to all producers and holders of professional waste, with an exemption for those using the public service and staying below a combined 1,100 litres per week.
continuous check, confirm every 12 monthsLegal obligationCode de l'environnement art. D543-278 à D543-287 ; décret n° 2016-288 du 10 mars 2016 ; décret n° 2021-950 du 16 juillet 2021France onlySourceverified on 11/09/2026
In Germany this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In Switzerland this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In Austria this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In United Kingdom this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In Spain this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In Portugal this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In United States this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In Other country this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
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