What Esterra does

Esterra is a French waste management company headquartered in Lezennes (Hauts-de-France), operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Veolia Environnement since 2014. The company provides household waste collection, fixed and mobile recycling centers (déchèteries), urban cleanliness services, and waste-to-energy valorization across the Hauts-de-France region. Its flagship engagement is a 7-year, €188M public-procurement contract with the Métropole Européenne de Lille (MEL), covering door-to-door waste collection across 34 communes serving 578,000 residents — the largest such perimeter in France. Esterra also serves over 3,000 business customers (industrial, healthcare, retail) and reaches 800,000+ individual residents, with a sub-brand, Lilébo, operating an integrated collection-and-cleaning model in five central districts of Lille.

Esterra's service portfolio is built around three segments — collectivités territoriales (primary), businesses and industrials (primary), and individual residents — delivered through owned physical infrastructure including 11 fixed and 3 next-generation Recycl'inn déchèteries, 29 mobile déchèteries, valorization units at Halluin/Boves/Amiens, and a heat-recovery network ('autoroute de la chaleur') supplying 35,000 households with heating and 20,000 with electricity. The technical stack includes Lixo, an AI/computer-vision system embedded on 11 collection vehicles that analyzes 70,000+ bins per month for sorting quality, and a green fleet of 51 electric, GNV, and GTL trucks — claimed as France's largest green waste-collection fleet. The company holds ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and OHSAS 18001 certifications and operates with a headcount of approximately 1,114 in Hauts-de-France.

The revenue model is anchored in long-term managed-services contracts: multi-year municipal tenders (the MEL contract at ~€27M/yr run-rate), industrial and commercial waste services quoted per engagement, and an incentive-based pricing model for local authorities tied to per-household waste volume. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales via public procurement for municipalities and direct B2B relationships for commercial clients, supplemented by direct-to-resident services through door-to-door collection and déchèteries. Operational scale is substantial: 1.5 million km/year of collection routes in the North-East MEL territory alone, supported by owned maintenance workshops (Santes) and a regional agency network led from the Roncq site (270 employees).

Name

Esterra

Legal name

Esterra

Website

https://esterra.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1904

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Esterra is a Veolia-owned waste collection and valorization company serving over 800,000 residents, 3,000+ businesses, and multiple municipalities across the Hauts-de-France region, anchored by a €188M, 7-year Métropole Européenne de Lille contract — the largest household waste collection perimeter in France.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Waste Management Services

NAICS

Solid Waste Collection (562111)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953)

akta.pro primary industry

Container Rental, Delivery & Servicing (Carts/Bins) (BPALAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Missed Pickup, On-Call & Supplemental Route Services (BPALAAAJ), Commercial Food Waste Programs & On-Site Solutions (Cafeterias, Grocers, Hospitality) (BPALAEAE)

Keywords

• Waste collection services
• Household waste management
• Recycling center operations
• Urban street cleaning
• Waste-to-energy recovery

Headquarters

HQ city

Lezennes

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Municipal Waste Collection Contracts: Multi-year public service contracts with local authorities (collectivités) for household waste collection, urban cleanliness, and déchèterie management. Revenue from 7-year contract with MEL (188M€ total) and additional municipal contracts for cleaning services.
2. Industrial and Commercial Waste Services: Waste collection, container management, material valorization, and equipment sanitation services for businesses from TPE to large industrial groups and healthcare professionals across Hauts-de-France.
3. Incentive Pricing for Local Authorities: Developed incentive-based pricing proportional to volume of waste collected per household, encouraging household sorting and reducing waste volumes.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Esterra delivers integrated waste-management services across the Hauts-de-France region: door-to-door household and selective-sort waste collection, recycling-centre operations, urban cleanliness and street sweeping, and volume-based incentive pricing for households. The company serves more than 800,000 residents and 3,000 business customers through long-term municipal contracts (public-service delegations), with its largest engagement being a seven-year, €188M contract with Métropole Européenne de Lille. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Veolia Environnement, headquartered in Lezennes.

Product overview

Esterra is a waste management company (a Veolia subsidiary) operating across the Hauts-de-France region. Its portfolio is structured as a set of interlinked services organized around three customer segments: individual residents, businesses, and municipalities. The core offering spans door-to-door household waste collection (serving over 800,000 residents), fixed and mobile recycling centers (14 total, including 3 next-generation Recycl'inn centers), and urban cleanliness/street cleaning services. The Lilébo sub-brand provides an integrated model combining waste collection and street cleaning for five Lille city districts. Cross-cutting modules include the AI-powered Lixo sorting optimization system, sorting ambassadors, incentive-based pricing for municipalities, and the 'heat highway' energy recovery system. Services are delivered with a green fleet using electric, CNG, and GTL vehicles.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Door-to-door household and selective-sort waste collection Scheduled door-to-door collection of residual household waste, selective-sort (recyclable) streams and bio-waste from more than 800,000 residents across Hauts-de-France municipalities.
• Urban cleanliness and street sweeping Mechanical street sweeping, graffiti removal and manual cleanliness interventions for municipalities, including dense city-centre cleaning delivered via the Lilébo subsidiary in Lille.
• Recycling centre operations (Recycl'inn / déchèteries) Operating a network of neighbourhood recycling centres for bulky items, green waste, hazardous waste and reusable materials, complemented by mobile collection services for materials not accepted in standard sorting.
• Business and industrial waste collection Customized recurring waste-collection and treatment services for businesses and industrial sites, covering selective-sort streams, hazardous waste, bulky volumes and specialized residues.
• Heat-from-waste energy recovery Waste-to-energy valorization through a high-temperature heat-recovery network that converts residual household waste into heat supplied to local heating networks.
• Cigarette butt recycling program Collection and recycling of discarded cigarette butts as a standalone environmental-service line, deployed in partnership with municipalities and clean-tech providers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 46% reduction in GHG emissions by end of 2024 for MEL collection operations
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• Les AlchimistescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 June 2025Partnership for composting awareness sessions for collection crews. Initiative on World Environment Day 2025 at Roncq collection agency. Alchimistes collect bio-waste and process it into compost, contributing to ecological transition on MEL territory.
• Tchao MégotminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2022Partnership with Tchao Mégot for cigarette butt recycling on Lille terraces. 30 café/restaurant terraces participated in 6-month pilot. Cigarette butts are depolluted and transformed into textile material for down jackets and later building insulation.
• Veolia EnvironnementflagshipOthersVeolia is the parent company of Esterra. Following acquisition in 2014, Esterra operates as a subsidiary managing waste collection, sorting, and valorization activities across Hauts-de-France. Veolia provides technological expertise, training campus (Campus Veolia), and operational methodologies.
• Fédération Lilloise du CommerceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for terrace cigarette butt recycling initiative, alongside Tchao Mégot and Lilébo.
• JanuscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJanus is the leader in professional insertion through economic activity in France for 40 years. Partnership forms temps (temporary workers) from priority urban neighborhoods or social welfare recipients. In 2020, 126 persons received training/integration for Veolia-Esterra sites. Joint CQP (Qualification Certificate) of 160 hours for collection and sorting professions.
• GEIQ Eco-Activités (Groupement d'Employeurs)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership complements Veolia Campus Titre ASGVD by providing students fundamental knowledge of environmental professions. In 2020, 11 persons in professionalization contracts including collection crew and BTS maintenance students were trained.
• RTL (Media)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerRTL featured Esterra's AI-equipped collection trucks in 'Un Jour Chez Vous' program, highlighting MEL as first metropolitan area to equip garbage trucks with artificial intelligence.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• SUEZ Recycling & Recovery France: SUEZ is Esterra's most direct competitor in French municipal waste collection and recycling. Historically co-invested in TRU (Esterra's predecessor) in 1967 with Compagnie Générale des Eaux/Veolia, SUEZ operates competing municipal contracts across Hauts-de-France and broader France, providing identical door-to-door and déchèterie services.
• Pizzorno Environnement: French family-owned waste management group offering municipal collection, sorting, and treatment services. Comparable as a France-focused waste collection operator bidding on similar municipal tenders, though with a stronger southern France footprint.
• Séché Environnement: French listed waste management group providing collection, treatment, and hazardous waste services to industrial, commercial, and municipal clients. Comparable on multi-segment French waste operations and competing for similar municipal contracts.
• Nicollin: Privately-held French waste management company providing municipal collection, industrial cleaning, and recycling services. Comparable as a France-focused, multi-segment waste operator with similar public-sector bidding exposure.

Regional players

• Ramery Environnement: Family-owned environmental services group headquartered in Hauts-de-France, offering waste collection, recycling, and site remediation. A direct local competitor in the same region for municipal and commercial contracts.

Broad incumbents

• Veolia Onyx (Veolia Propreté France): Veolia's broader waste services brand operating across France, of which Esterra is a subsidiary. Competes and cooperates within the same group for municipal contracts, offering the same integrated collection-to-valorization model at national scale.
• Derichebourg Environnement: Diversified French industrial services group with a waste management division covering collection, sorting, and recycling. Comparable on multi-segment waste services and a long French operating history, though Derichebourg is more diversified beyond waste.
• Renewi: European waste-to-product company operating municipal collection, recycling, and waste treatment across the UK, Netherlands, and Belgium. Comparable as a publicly-listed waste management operator with similar integrated collection and valorization services, though focused on different geographies.
• FCC Medio Ambiente: Spanish-based international waste management and environmental services group operating municipal collection and urban cleanliness across Europe. Comparable on multi-country municipal contract operations and integrated waste services, with selective French presence.

Emerging players

• PreZero: Schwarz Group's environmental services arm providing collection, sorting, and recycling across Europe. Comparable on integrated waste-to-value offerings and growing presence in European municipal tenders, though newer and more focused on retail-backward integration.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/veolia
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@VeoliaGroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/esterra

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Esterra