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★Mark us as a preferred sourceIn France, recycling performance continues to grow, driven by the committed actions of companies, local authorities, and citizens. The latest 2025 data highlight the exact quantitative results of the separate collection and processing of packaging and graphic papers. Based on the official Citeo report, the following summary presents the current numbers of the waste management sector, material-specific rates, as well as the achieved environmental and carbon footprint reduction results.
Recyclability of Packaging and Residential Selective Waste Collection in 2025
According to official statistics, 75 percent of plastic packaging was already recyclable in 2025, representing a significant 10-percentage-point increase compared to the 2020 baseline. The performance of residential selective waste collection also shows outstanding results: on average, 71.5 kilograms of packaging and paper were sorted per inhabitant over the course of the year. The vast majority of this amount, 61.4 kilograms per capita, consisted of household packaging. This value exceeds the 2024 indicators by 1.4 kilograms, while the volume of selectively collected graphic papers reached 10.1 kilograms per inhabitant.
Recycling Rates and Quantitative Data by Material
According to industry estimates made at the end of December 2025, the overall recycling rate for packaging reached 73 percent. Based on data within the scope of CITEO and Adelphe, this translates to the successful recycling of a total of 3.8 million tonnes of packaging in absolute terms.
The processing rate of different raw materials shows varying results:
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Steel: 100%
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Glass: 88%
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Paper and cardboard: 83%
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Aluminium: 43%
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Plastics: 30%
Beyond packaging, the recycling rate of graphic papers reached 75 percent in the period under review, which quantitatively means the successful recycling of 667,000 tonnes of paper in France.
Environmental Savings and the Integration of Recycled Materials
The direct ecological benefit of waste management and recycling efforts is notably high: through these processes, the emission of 3.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) was avoided. This emission saving is equivalent to removing 1.5 million passenger cars from the roads.
The application of circular economy principles is demonstrated by the fact that household plastic packaging now contains 17 percent recycled materials, representing a 4-percentage-point increase since 2021. Another important result is that almost all of the collected packaging and paper, 99 percent, was processed locally, meaning in factories in France and Europe, thereby minimizing the environmental impact of transportation.
Reference to the original, official source (Citeo): https://www.citeo.com/le-mag/les-chiffres-du-recyclage-en-france/
