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Chemical Engineering

SUEZ gets approval to expand hazardous waste facility in western France

| By Mary Bailey

SUEZ S.A. (Paris, France) has obtained the authorization to extend and expand the activities of its SEDA facility in Chenillé-Champteussé (Maine-et-Loire), covering both hazardous and non-hazardous waste.

With a treatment capacity of 200,000 tons per year, the SEDA eco-park plays a strategic role in the safe management of waste generated by municipalities and industrial customers throughout western France. By producing nearly 12 GWh of renewable electricity annually, the site also supports the region’s environmental and energy transition.

Operated by SUEZ since 1978, the SEDA eco-park in Chenillé-Champteussé is a regulated facility under France’s environmental protection legislation. It brings together four complementary activities:

  • Non-hazardous waste landfill operations
  • Treatment and storage of hazardous waste
  • Treatment and recovery of contaminated soil
  • A photovoltaic power plant located on restored and rehabilitated landfill areas

The new prefectural order, signed on March 25, 2026, authorizes the continuation and expansion of these activities for 16 years for non-hazardous waste disposal and 27 years for hazardous waste disposal. The first phase of the site expansion was completed on Sept. 1, 2026, with the commissioning of a new non-hazardous waste disposal cell.

With a treatment capacity of 200,000 tons per year, the SEDA eco-park provides an essential solution for local authorities and businesses across western France for the management of non-hazardous waste (90,000 tons per year) from recycling centers, wastewater treatment plants and local economic activities.

The facility also manages hazardous waste (110,000 tons per year) generated by industrial activities, such as industrial sludge, contaminated soil and materials, as well as waste from the construction and civil engineering sector, such as asbestos, lead, heat-resistant materials and rock wool. In addition, it handles residues from energy-from-waste facilities, biomass boilers and solid recovered fuel (SRF) plants, including air pollution residues and ashes.

Beyond the treatment and safe containment of residual waste, the SEDA eco-park contributes to local production of renewable energy. Through its photovoltaic plant and its energy recovery unit that converts biogas generated by non-hazardous waste disposal into electricity, the site produces nearly 12 GWh of renewable electricity annually, enough to meet the needs of approximately 8,000 residents. The planned expansion of the existing facilities will almost double renewable electricity generation in the coming years.

Against a backdrop of increasingly stringent environmental regulations and growing public health concerns, hazardous waste treatment facilities play a strategic role in ensuring the continuity of industrial activity in France and providing a secure disposal route for residual waste from local authorities.

As a long-established player in France’s hazardous waste treatment sector, with an annual treatment capacity of 1.6 million tons, SUEZ continues to expand its national footprint. This includes the approval granted in March 2026 to extend the SEDA eco-park in western France, as well as the authorization to expand the Villeparisis facility in the Île-de-France region in September 2025. These two sites are among the five hazardous waste stabilization and storage facilities operated by SUEZ in France, a country with only around a dozen facilities of this kind.