Production of municipal solid waste (MSW) is increasing worldwide, although many - primarily industrialized - countries are making major efforts to cap that growth. In France, for example, MSW production has tripled over the past 25 years. In 2006, the country produced 30 million metric tonnes of municipal solid waste, with a substantial portion of this waste ending up in landfills. In keeping with many other countries, French authorities aim to stabilize domestic waste production in 2008 and, in the long-term, restrict land filling to residual waste only, i.e. to the material left after everything of value (in terms of recycling or energy recovery) has been recovered.

Such goals necessitate the construction of new infrastructure to treat and sort the waste, thus maximizing the quantities recovered. This is all fairly straightforward logic, but the practicalities of implementing appropriate solutions within a populated environment can be problematic, particularly when it comes to odour control.