A major fire broke out at approximately 19:30 on Monday evening at a materials recovery facility (MRF) in Paris. The blaze, which has since been brought under control, caused extensive damage to the facility which is owned by Syctom, the metropolitan agency responsible for household waste management in the Île-de-France region. According to Syctom, none of the 31 staff members present at the time were injured.
The sorting facility and the building that housed it were completely gutted by the fire, along with a storage area. However, the administration building remained virtually unscathed, as did neighbouring structures.
The sorting facility, known as "Paris XVIIe", lies within the Paris ring road (Périphérique) in the 17th arrondissement, near the Batignolles neighbourhood. It is located in close proximity to several prominent public buildings, including the new Paris Law Courts (Tribunal de Paris). A large plume of dark smoke was visible over the site, but police have stated that there was no immediate risk to public health.
The fire started in a post-sorting storage area for recovered paper, according to Syctom president Corentin Duprey. Although the automatic fire suppression system was activated, it had not been able to contain the flames.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. The mayor of 17th arrondissement, Geoffroy Boulard, noted that despite a rapid response by the fire brigade, the facility had become fully engulfed due to the intensity of the fire.
Approximately 60 fire engines and 200 firefighters responded to the scene, with the priority being to prevent the flames from spreading to adjacent structures. A section of the Paris' ring road was temporarily closed in both directions to facilitate access by emergency personnel.
Damage expected to be "very substantial"
The full scale of the damage has yet to be assessed, but is expected to be very substantial, said Mr Duprey. When the sorting centre was opened in 2019, Syctom put the investment volume at €67m.
The installation featured 13 optical sorting lines among other equipment and had a throughput capacity of 15 tonnes per hour, or 45,000 tonnes per year. The contract to operate the MRF was awarded to French environmental services company Suez.
Until the fire, the site processed separately collected packaging waste including plastics and recovered paper from seven Paris arrondissements and four neighbouring municipalities, serving a catchment population of roughly 900,000 residents. According to Syctom, the material that would have been processed at Paris XVIIe is now being redirected to two of the agency's other sorting centres as well as to a private-sector facility within the Greater Paris area.
The Paris XVIIe sorting centre is situated in a mixed development zone within the Clichy-Batignolles "Eco-Quartier", and featured ambitious architectural and landscape design. In the construction of the sorting plant, priority was given to green spaces and the use of renewable building materials such as wood, according to Syctom. A 1500m² photovoltaic system with a capacity of 250 kWp had been installed on the roof.
