Photo : © FMSH
End-of-life plastics, a geography of waste
Your trash holds secrets about how society actually functions. Join us for a fascinating conversation where scientists and thinkers dissect the true geography of plastic waste beyond the empty promises of industrial recycling.
Fondation Maison des Sciences de l'Homme (Paris 6th)
About
On October 27, 2026, the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l'Homme hosts a public discussion exploring the complexities of plastic waste management. Running from 18:30 to 20:30, this free event examines the friction between industrial interests, environmental needs, and political decision-making. The venue is fully accessible to wheelchair users. Whether you are interested in the limitations of current recycling policies or the broader social dynamics behind plastic production, this session provides a deep dive into the subject. Join researchers and experts to rethink our collective relationship with synthetic materials and their global environmental impact.
What do plastic waste reveal about our societal choices? Behind the promise of recycling, the management of end-of-life plastics reveals deep tensions between environmental imperatives, industrial interests, and political decisions.
As waste volumes increase, one question arises: what does our way of treating plastics say about our production, consumption, and regulation models?
Plastic waste currently constitutes a privileged observatory of contemporary transformations. By following their flows, their material properties, and the social dynamics that organize their circulation, Jeanne Perez highlights the trade-offs that structure management sectors and the limits of current responses. Why does recycling occupy a central place in public policies? What are the effects of this hyper-focus on the end of the life cycle? What alternatives can be envisioned in the face of the difficulties of closing the loops?
This meeting proposes to open the discussion around recycling mechanisms, the organization of sectors, and the collective choices that guide plastic management today.
The session will bring together Jeanne Perez and Henri Bourgeois Costa, Director of Public Affairs at the Tara Ocean Foundation and co-designer of the series, and will be moderated by a science journalist.
At the end of the discussion, you will have the opportunity to ask our guests any questions you may have.
About the speakers
Jeanne Perez is a post-doctoral researcher at the Espaces et Sociétés laboratory (ESO, CNRS) at Le Mans University. Her research focuses on plastics and plastic waste through an interdisciplinary approach crossing environmental chemistry and social geography. It falls within the field of rudology (the study of waste), developed notably at Le Mans, and analyzes the environmental, social, and territorial issues associated with plastic materials.
Henri Bourgeois Costa is a specialist in the geography of ecosystems. After working in NGOs starting in 1997, he developed expertise in water, biodiversity, and industrial environment (eco-design, plastics, recovery). Since 2019, he has been working at the Tara Ocean Foundation, where he develops advocacy on the circular economy, particularly around plastics and toxics, and promotes these issues at the international level in the context of UN negotiations.
About the series "Plastics: a systemic poison"
Organized in partnership with the Tara Ocean Foundation, the series "Plastics: a systemic poison" explores a pollution that has become global. Since the 1970s, scientific research has revealed the extent of the problem: from oceans to mountains, invisible microplastics penetrate our bodies and disrupt ecosystems. The humanities and social sciences complete this picture by analyzing the economic and social mechanisms of our dependence on plastics.
As the seventh round of negotiations for an international treaty opens this year, these meetings bring together researchers and civil society to cross-reference knowledge and inform public decisions. The objective: to collectively rethink our relationship with plastics and the environment.
Our take on this event
The event titled Plastiques en fin de vie, une géographie des déchets takes place on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, from 18:30 to 20:30 at the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. This free discussion is part of a larger cycle titled Plastiques : un poison systémique, organized in partnership with the Fondation Tara Océan, and welcomes all attendees in an accessible space equipped for wheelchair users.
Journalist Mathieu Vidard moderates the session, featuring insights from Jeanne Perez, a postdoctoral researcher specializing in plastic waste, and Henri Bourgeois Costa, public affairs director at the Fondation Tara Océan. The conversation focuses on the geography of waste, questioning why recycling remains a central pillar of public policy and how current management strategies struggle to address the global scale of plastic pollution.
Following the expert presentations, a Q&A session allows the audience to engage directly with the speakers. By bridging scientific research and civil society, the meeting aims to provide clarity on the economic and social mechanisms behind our plastic dependency, particularly as international negotiations for a global treaty on plastic pollution continue.
