Veolia scales up hazardous waste management in global GreenUp push

Arab News

a day ago

COURRIERES: As hazardous waste becomes an emerging bottleneck in global industry, environmental services giant Veolia is taking center stage with a bold new road map. At its 'Deep Dive Waste to Value' conference held in Courrieres, northern France, the company unveiled a sweeping strategy to expand hazardous waste treatment capacity by 50 percent by 2030 — a key pillar of its broader GreenUp plan to accelerate sustainable infrastructure worldwide.
The event marked a strategic repositioning, beyond the scope of a corporate update. In an age of tightening regulations, industrial transformation and health concerns tied to chemical pollutants, hazardous waste is no longer a passive liability — it is a value stream to be captured, a risk to be neutralized and a global challenge requiring scalable, science-backed solutions.
Veolia executives from across Europe, North America, the Middle East and the Australia–New Zealand region convened at the event, offering insights into how the company is reshaping its global hazardous waste portfolio to meet mounting environmental and regulatory demands.
From PFAS destruction technologies to global acquisitions, Veolia's leadership outlined how the company plans to lead the next chapter in environmental security — focusing on innovation, infrastructure investment and tailored regional solutions aligned with industry needs.
From buckets of paint to PFAS: the scope of hazardous waste
Hazardous waste comes in various forms — from industrial effluents to household products like leftover paint, expired garden chemicals or solvents. The path to circularity starts not just with large-scale technology, but also with individual action. Next time you have a bucket of unused paint or expired garden products, think again before dumping it into nature — a reminder that sustainable change hinges on both systemic infrastructure and everyday choices.
At scale, Veolia aims to increase its hazardous waste treatment capacity by 530,000 tonnes, eliminate over 9 million tonnes of pollutants annually and increase revenues from this segment by 50 percent by 2030.
According to CEO Estelle Brachlianoff: 'Hazardous waste treatment is becoming a strategic bottleneck for several industries. It is also an essential topic for human health and environmental security.'
Macro and micro-scale strategy
Hazardous waste is a global issue requiring both top-down and bottom-up engagement. 'We need international cooperation,' Brachlianoff said, 'but also change at the household level. Sustainable impact requires both.'
She identified three defining industry drivers: Pollutant removal for health, strategic industrial restructuring and supply chain resilience. 'Waste is not waste anymore — it's an untapped resource,' she added.
Veolia now treats more than 8.7 million tonnes of hazardous waste each year and reported €4.3 billion ($5 billion) in 2024 revenue from its hazardous waste segment. Its portfolio includes advanced capabilities such as strategic metal separation, battery recycling, and thermal treatment across a proprietary lab and incineration network.
Courrieres: Where the science happens
The Courrieres hazardous waste facility, one of Veolia's flagship sites, processes about 140,000 tonnes of waste per year. Every load undergoes 10–20 tests, then sorting by waste family, followed by incineration or chemical treatment — a full cycle that can take as little as 10 to 45 minutes.
Due to the complexity and infrastructure requirements, treatment investments are closely tied to local waste volumes. When volumes are insufficient, waste may be transported to facilities elsewhere in Europe or beyond.
The PFAS challenge: Veolia's new Drop Technology
One of the most significant challenges Veolia aims to tackle is PFAS — the persistent, health-risk chemicals often used in industrial and household applications. These 'forever chemicals' resist breakdown due to their strong carbon-fluorine bonds and are increasingly under regulatory scrutiny.
In a major announcement, Veolia introduced Drop, its newly patented PFAS destruction technology, developed in-house and now being deployed across its 20 hazardous waste incineration lines in Europe.
Unlike traditional incineration, Drop uses a catalyst-assisted thermal process at more than 900 degrees Celsius, which not only enables destruction and removal efficiency of up to 99.9999 percent for both polymeric and non-polymeric PFAS, but also reduces corrosion and fouling in incineration systems — increasing long-term reliability.
'This is a disruptive innovation capable of eliminating targeted PFAS while preserving industrial infrastructure,' said Catherine Ricou, CEO of Veolia Hazardous Waste Europe. 'We're proud to set a European benchmark in PFAS treatment.'
Global markets and local solutions
Executives across regions presented how Veolia's strategy is adapted to local contexts:
In Europe, Ricou highlighted four strategic pillars: Network strength, asset diversity, a granular customer base and innovation. With 20 operational sites handling waste from sectors like pharmaceuticals and households, the company is targeting 10 percent compound annual growth rate in hazardous waste EBITDA.
In North America, Bob Cappadona, president and CEO of Veolia Environmental Solutions and Services, highlighted recent acquisitions in Massachusetts and California, and the commissioning of one of the continent's largest PFAS treatment facilities in Delaware.
From the Middle East, Helder Daravano, Veolia general manager of MAGMA, said the region is growing 'twice as fast as Europe' despite being one-quarter its size. New facilities in Saudi Arabia (Tahweel) and the UAE (MAGMA) are positioning Veolia as a full-service player in the region.
In Australia and New Zealand, Matt Ead, Veolia's national remediation services manager, detailed a shift from landfilling to pretreatment, supported by M&A activity and market-specific strategies.
Scaling through GreenUp: investments and M&A
To meet rising demand, Veolia's GreenUp program outlines both organic and acquisitive growth:
Five new treatment facilities are under development across the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia.
An additional 285,000 tonnes of capacity will be added by 2027, with a total of 430,000 tonnes by 2030.
$354 million in acquisitions across the US, Brazil, and Japan will contribute 100,000 tonnes of capacity.
Emmanuelle Menning, deputy CEO finance and purchasing, described the approach as a formula balancing growth, performance and capital allocation, adding that hazardous waste — particularly high-temperature incineration — remains one of Veolia's most profitable segments.
Environmental security and strategic autonomy
'At Veolia, we are architects of environmental security. Our objective is to protect strategic autonomy,' said Brachlianoff, highlighting the company's commitment to global agreements like the Basel Convention, ensuring waste does not get exported to less-regulated regions.
At Courrieres, which operates at 94–96 percent capacity, Veolia plans to reconfigure its boilers by 2028 to make the plant energy autonomous. The site today handles 80 percent domestic (Northern France) and 20 percent international waste, including from Italy.
Waste is no longer waste
The overarching takeaway: Hazardous waste is no longer just an environmental liability — it is a strategic resource, a public health priority and a business imperative. As Veolia aligns innovation with policy, technology and investment, it is helping set the global standard for the future of sustainable waste management.