Artificial turf recycling in France

Each statement: claim → public source → date → evidence label → limitation. Figures are shown separately and never added together.

• DATA GAP · 2026

  Current national actual recycling throughput, route shares and final destinations by material stream are not yet fully verified in the French CTE public-source dataset.

  Limitation: This remains the main evidence gap for a French environmental-impact or destination-retention score.

• CTE MODEL — PUBLIC INPUTS · CTE 2026 model using public stock/lifetime inputs

  CTE public-input stock-turnover model: the 3,300 synthetic full-size football pitches reported by FFF, divided by a 10–15 year service-life range, corresponds to a long-run replacement equivalent of about 220–330 football pitches per year.

  Formula: 3,300 synthetic football pitches ÷ 15–10 years = 220–330 pitch-equivalents/year. Limitation: Steady-state stock-turnover model, not a measured annual replacement count. France has a non-uniform age profile and changing system types.

  Sources: [1] media.fff.fr [2] www.senat.fr

• CTE MODEL — PUBLIC INPUTS · CTE 2026 model

  CTE public-input area model: 220–330 full-size pitch equivalents/year × ESTC's ~7,000 m² reference corresponds to about 1.54–2.31 million m²/year of football synthetic-turf replacement equivalent.

  Formula: 220–330 pitch-equivalents/year × 7,000 m²/pitch. Limitation: Football-only model; not measured national EOL area and not a model for landscape/hybrid/leisure.

  Sources: [1] media.fff.fr [2] www.senat.fr [3] www.estc.info

• CTE MODEL — PUBLIC INPUTS / HIGH UNCERTAINTY · CTE 2026 model

  CTE public-input gross-mass sensitivity: if the football replacement equivalents are modelled as typical filled full-size pitches using ESTC's 220–240 t/pitch reference, the gross system mass is about 48–79 kt/year.

  Formula: 220–330 pitch-equivalents/year × 220–240 t/pitch ÷ 1,000. Limitation: Sensitivity range, not a measured French waste statistic. It assumes typical filled-pitch mass and therefore should not be applied uncritically to unfilled or lower-infill systems.

  Sources: [1] media.fff.fr [2] www.senat.fr [3] www.estc.info

• DATA GAP · 2026

  CTE has not identified a current measured national annual artificial-turf EOL tonnage for France.

  Limitation: Use the CTE model only with its model label; do not relabel it as official French waste statistics.

• OFFICIAL AUTHORISATION + INSPECTION · current 2026

  Infrasports operates a synthetic-sports-surface recycling platform at Route Forestière de Ham, 57150 Creutzwald. A 2025 prefectural order authorises the installation, and a DREAL inspection was carried out in January 2026.

  Limitation: Current operating-site evidence; do not confuse the Leyviller head-office address with the Creutzwald processing site.

  Sources: [1] www.moselle.gouv.fr [2] www.georisques.gouv.fr [3] www.infrasports.fr

• DATED INDUSTRY / COMPANY-REPORTED CAPACITY · dated 2023 facility statement

  ESTC's 2023 guide described Infrasports as having a 25 t/hour processing capacity and expected future processing of more than 100 fields/year.

  Limitation: Dated processing-rate statement and forward-looking field count; not verified current annual throughput.

  Sources: [1] www.estc.info

• DATA GAP · 2026

  CTE has not identified a public current annual actual throughput figure for Infrasports.

  Limitation: Do not annualise hourly or regulatory authorisation figures into actual throughput.

  Sources: [1] www.moselle.gouv.fr [2] www.georisques.gouv.fr

• OFFICIAL ENVIRONMENTAL REGISTER · current 2026

  RevalGreen operates an authorised waste-treatment site at 130 impasse de la Gare, 38540 Grenay; Géorisques lists the installation as 'en exploitation avec titre' under the ICPE authorisation regime.

  Limitation: This establishes current regulatory operating status, not annual artificial-turf throughput.

  Sources: [1] www.georisques.gouv.fr

• OFFICIAL ENVIRONMENTAL REGISTER · current 2026

  The RevalGreen Grenay site has an ICPE 2791 non-hazardous-waste treatment authorisation listed at 80 t/day; this is a site-level regulatory treatment parameter, not a turf-specific annual capacity or actual throughput figure.

  Limitation: Do not annualise this into a turf capacity without operating-day and scope evidence.

  Sources: [1] www.georisques.gouv.fr

• COMPANY REPORTED ACTUAL TONNAGE · 2025

  SERFIM reported that RevalGreen treated/recycled 10,000 tonnes of sports fields and sports-surface material in 2025.

  Limitation: The published scope is sports fields/surfaces and should not automatically be interpreted as 10,000 tonnes of artificial turf only or as independently audited throughput.

  Sources: [1] www.serfim.com

• COMPANY REPORTED · current company description

  RevalGreen publicly describes shredding, screening and dry separation of synthetic sports surfaces into individually recoverable components.

  Limitation: Technology description does not by itself prove annual yield or final destination for each tonne.

  Sources: [1] www.revalgreen.fr [2] www.estc.info

• COMPANY REPORTED — ROUTE MIX · current company reporting

  RevalGreen publicly markets recovered silica sand and recycled SBR, and also shows solid recovered fuel (CSR) as a cement-industry route. Its stated '98% recycled/recovered' claim must therefore not be presented by CTE as 98% material recycling.

  Limitation: French 'valorisation' can include routes other than material recycling. CTE must separate material recycling, reuse and energy/recovery routes where data allow.

  Sources: [1] www.revalgreen.fr

• JUDICIAL AUCTION NOTICE · 2026 historical status

  The former Re-Match France synthetic-turf recycling unit at Erstein is a historical/closed facility. A judicial auction of the recycling unit took place on 10 June 2026 following judicial liquidation.

  Limitation: Do not count Erstein toward current French or European recycling capacity. Re-Match must not be presented as an active operating recycler.

  Sources: [1] www.encheres-alsace.fr [2] infos.ademe.fr

• DATA GAP · 2026

  CTE has not identified a current national public estimate for French hybrid-turf EOL tonnage.

  Limitation: Keep hybrid turf separate from conventional synthetic turf.

• NATIONAL SPORTS GOVERNING BODY · 2024-01

  FFF's January 2024 statistics show that across synthetic football pitches, 75% used elastomeric infill, 15% organic infill, 8% had unknown infill and 3% were listed without infill; for 2022/2023 installations the mix had shifted strongly toward organic infill.

  Limitation: Rounded percentages can sum to more than 100; use as reported by FFF and do not infer tonnage without separate mass data.

  Sources: [1] media.fff.fr

• DATA GAP · 2026

  CTE has not identified a current national public estimate for French landscaping artificial-turf installed stock or annual EOL tonnage.

  Limitation: ADEME provides general disposal/reuse guidance, but not a national annual landscape-turf tonnage.

  Sources: [1] quefairedemesdechets.ademe.fr

• DATA GAP · 2026

  CTE has not identified a current national public estimate for French leisure/recreation artificial-turf EOL tonnage.

  Limitation: Do not merge this stream with sport.

• PARLIAMENTARY REPORT · historical public reference

  A French Senate report used a typical synthetic-football-pitch replacement interval of about 10–15 years.

  Limitation: A planning range, not a universal lifetime. Actual life depends on use, maintenance and system.

  Sources: [1] www.senat.fr

• COMPANY TECHNICAL DATASHEET · current public datasheet

  RevalGreen's public recycled-sand datasheet reports 0.315–0.8 mm particle size, rounded shape, bulk density 1.35 g/cm³ and infiltration above 360 cm/h, referenced against NF P 90-112.

  Limitation: Product-specific company datasheet; not a universal French secondary-raw-material standard.

  Sources: [1] www.revalgreen.fr

• COMPANY TECHNICAL DATASHEET · current public datasheet

  RevalGreen's public recycled-SBR datasheet reports a particle-size requirement of d ≥ 0.5 mm and D ≤ 3.15 mm under NF P 90-112 and notes that recycled big-bags may contain up to 5% sand by volume.

  Limitation: Product-specific specification. Do not generalise to all recycled SBR in France.

  Sources: [1] www.revalgreen.fr

• NATIONAL LAW · current 2026

  French Article L541-4-3 sets general End-of-Waste conditions: after recovery, the substance/object must have a specific use, demand/market, meet technical/product-law requirements and not cause overall harmful effects on health or the environment.

  Limitation: General legal framework; it does not automatically confer product status on every recycled turf fraction.

  Sources: [1] www.legifrance.gouv.fr [2] www.legifrance.gouv.fr

• CTE RESEARCH FINDING + NATIONAL LAW · 2026 CTE public-source review

  CTE has not identified a French nationwide artificial-turf-specific End-of-Waste criterion in the current public-source chain.

  Limitation: Phrase as 'not identified in the current CTE source chain'; this does not exclude case-specific decisions or criteria for other waste streams.

  Sources: [1] www.legifrance.gouv.fr [2] www.legifrance.gouv.fr

• EU AUTHORITATIVE · EU rule

  For granular polymeric infill used on artificial sports surfaces, the EU placing-on-market restriction applies from 17 October 2031.

  Limitation: Do not describe this as a blanket ban on artificial-turf pitches.

  Sources: [1] echa.europa.eu

• EU LAW · current 2026

  Regulation (EU) 2024/1157 is the current EU framework for cross-border waste shipments and applies from 21 May 2026, subject to transitional provisions.

  Limitation: Procedure depends on waste classification, destination, treatment route and transitional status.

  Sources: [1] eur-lex.europa.eu

• NATIONAL SPORTS GOVERNING BODY · 2024-01

  FFF statistics as of January 2024 list about 25,000 full-size football pitches in France, of which about 3,300 have synthetic turf.

  Limitation: Football only. This is not a complete national count across hockey, rugby, multisport, landscaping, hybrid and leisure uses.

  Sources: [1] media.fff.fr

• NATIONAL SPORTS GOVERNING BODY · 2024-01

  FFF's January 2024 age profile for synthetic football pitches shows 11% under 2 years, 18% aged 2–5 years, 31% aged 5–10 years and 40% over 10 years.

  Limitation: Age distribution describes the football synthetic-turf stock, not annual EOL volume.

  Sources: [1] media.fff.fr

• DATA GAP · 2026

  CTE has not identified a current complete French national count covering all sport, landscape, hybrid and leisure artificial-turf systems.

  Limitation: Do not extrapolate a national all-stream total from football-only FFF statistics.

  Sources: [1] media.fff.fr

• DATA GAP · 2026

  CTE has not identified a current country-wide annual tonnage specifically for French end-of-life artificial turf exported or imported in 2026.

  Limitation: Do not substitute general plastics trade statistics or isolated shipment cases.