Nearly a million canisters of nitrous oxide ended up in waste incinerators in the Île-de-France region in 2025, resulting in explosions that endangered employees and facilities. Syctom indicated on Monday, April 20, 2026, the public service that manages household waste for nearly 6 million people spread across the 82 municipalities of Ile-de-France.
Read alsoNitrous oxide: the gas that no longer makes people laugh
In incinerators, " an explosion every two hours“
The phenomenon is already known, but does not seem to be abating, despite warnings from authorities against the recreational use of these canisters, originally intended for medical or food use, as "laughing gas." It is estimated that one million nitrous oxide canisters entered the syndicate's three incinerators in 2025, causing more than 25,000 explosions, or about one explosion every two hours.", the waste management union indicated.
Read alsoLaughing gas: a campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of nitrous oxide
He emphasizes that these incidents, resulting from improper waste sorting, cause " pose a direct risk to the safety of agents working on the sites and provoke equipment breakdowns, boiler leaks, and emergency shutdowns of incineration lines"In incineration furnaces, the heat can indeed cause these cylinders, which still contain gas residue, to explode."
Material, human, and environmental damage
In September 2025, the National Union for the Treatment and Recovery of Urban and Similar Waste (SVDU), another player in the waste sector, raised the same issue. According to them, nitrous oxide cylinders fall under the category of hazardous waste when they are not completely empty. They elaborated in a report The multiple consequences of these gas cylinder explosions included extensive damage to various parts of the incinerators, burns and injuries caused by flying debris, as well as contusions and severe injuries to the lungs, abdominal cavity, larynx, and eardrums caused by the blast wave on the operators. He also noted spikes in carbon monoxide (CO) emissions during the explosions, creating a risk of exceeding regulatory emission limits.
A call for a strong regulatory response
This observation prompted Syctom to communicate " to raise awareness and call for a collective response", press inserts and messages on its social networks to support this. On a material level, in 2025, " The overall cost to Syctom is estimated at nearly 15 million euros, an amount entirely borne by the public service and, ultimately, by taxpayers."Syctom calls for..." a strong regulatory response, combining enhanced prevention, public protection, and a ban on placing nitrous oxide on the market, except for its food and medical uses, to prevent these canisters from ending up in household waste" he concluded in a statement.
Awareness campaign
On April 7, the government launched an awareness campaign against the misuse of nitrous oxide, the inhalation of which can cause damage to the nervous system, impaired cognitive function, and balance and reflex problems, creating an increased risk for those driving under the influence. According to figures from the Ministry of the Interior, reports of nitrous oxide poisoning tripled between 2022 and 2023, while serious cases quadrupled over the same period. Ten percent of these cases involve minors.
English 
French