Waste production in France (in millions of metric tons)
(Source: "Chiffres-clés 2002 de l'environnement", Ifen 2002)

Between 1960 and 1995, the French population doubled its household waste production. In 1997, annual per-capita output totaled 369 kg, which represents more than 1 kg per person per day.
And household waste is just a fraction of the total, compared to commercial, construction and agricultural waste. Significantly, however, household waste production has been expanding at an annual rate of about 2.5% during the last several decades (though it seems to have slackened in recent years).

The increase in waste reflects changes in society:
- Demographic growth.
- Expanding consumption.
- The replacement of unprocessed products (i.e. fruits and vegetables) with manufactured and packaged goods.
- The development of single-portion packaging due to the widening share of one and two-person households and increased individual consumption within families.
- Urbanization and a decline in backyard com-posting.
- Shorter life spans for certain objects such as buildings, appliances and disposable items.

Since time immemorial, human activity has always produced waste, but urbanization and the industrial revolution brought about major change in disposal practices. Instead of leaving waste in the street, collection systems had to be devised. The volume of waste keeps rising steadily. Organic matter has given way over the years to glass, metal, cardboard, plastic and toxic products such as batteries, motor oil and paint.