Turning Waste into Resources

At the Kerval Centre Armor sorting center in Ploufragan, 25,000 tonnes of waste are processed each year. Skilled operators conduct meticulous characterization to identify recyclable materials and detect sorting errors, while 26 collaborators work daily on the production lines. The trommel, the first filter applied to waste, sorts by size and separates plastics, paper, and cardboard. Manual sorting chains then refine this material separation.

The sorted materials find a second life: plastics are baled to produce new plastics (a revolution in Europe where one in three packages were recycled in 2011), while paper is purchased by Seyfert Paper mill in Descartes to be transformed into pulp and produce brown paper destined for cardboard production.

Non-recyclable residual waste is recovered energetically in Vitré. The energy recovery unit produces 32,000 MWh of steam per year, equivalent to heating 7,110 homes. This heat supplies the Kervalis plant (animal meal production) and the municipal swimming pool, creating an exemplary ecological and economic symbiosis.

The reportage also explores mechanical-biological treatment at the SITA Guéltas site, including a composting center that supplies regional agricultural operations such as Nicolas Raflé's farm in Cléguérec. This compost enriches his 100 hectares of crops (wheat, potatoes, oats, rye, peas), thus closing a virtuous cycle where even waste becomes fertilizer.