2023-12-28 12:35:37
Boots on feet, fork in hand, Brigitte, David, Alice and Isabelle proudly observe the result of production: peelings, coffee grounds, pieces of bread and other maturing garbage. The three wooden bins which collect organic waste from the 24 housing units in their building, in the Fontaine-Écu district of Besançon, release a thick cloud of steam. “It can go up to 40°C”maintains David, stirring the contents of the 600 liter container.
“It’s beautiful and full! “, congratulates Doriane Candas, armed with a flashlight. Employee of Trivial Compost, a Bisontine cooperative specializing in local composting, she has trained and supported the four local residents since the installation of the composter in their co-ownership eighteen months ago.
Pioneering metropolis
Gone are the days when residents of Bison threw their waste indiscriminately into the gray trash can. In recent years, the metropolis of Greater Besançon has made residual household waste (OMR) its pet peeve. And for good reason: the treatment of waste, of all types, represents 3% of greenhouse gas emissions in France. 15 million tonnes of OMR are still burned each year when they are not buried, while more than 30% of our gray bins are organic waste, which can contain up to 80% water.
To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution linked to waste while encouraging the circular economy, the Agec law was passed in 2020. It requires the communities of municipalities, responsible for waste management, to propose solutions sorting bio-waste to their constituents. While the law takes effect on January 1, many have fallen behind schedule. Currently, only a third of French people have access to a sorting solution.
Greater Besançon did not wait. In 2008, the metropolis of 68 municipalities took on the challenge of reducing the quantity of OMR per year from 50,000 to 30,000 tonnes, in order to do without the second furnace of the incinerator which had to be renovated – and thus avoid a bill of around 70 million euros. Fifteen years later, the efforts have borne fruit: the gray trash of 200,000 citizens has reduced by at least 35%. It now stands at 135 kg per inhabitant, compared to 240 kg for the French average. In certain neighborhoods, lighter bins have made it possible to reduce collections, sometimes reduced to once every two weeks.
In 2012, an incentive fee for citizens, calculated based on the weight and number of times the gray trash is collected, was put in place. “It’s the “polluter pays” principle: the more waste you generate, the more you pay,” explains Matthias Mennecier, director of waste management at the intercommunality. A pioneer, Greater Besançon remains to this day the largest French metropolis to have adopted this system.
Adapting to urban environments
In this rather rural area, part of the population was already composting. But in the city of Besançon alone, where 60% of the population lives in collective housing without having a garden, to facilitate the sorting of bio-waste outside the gray bin, we had to innovate. The metropolis, in collaboration with its waste treatment service, Sybert, and its service provider, Trivial Compost, has developed different collection systems in order to best adapt to the constraints of city dwellers. With the same desire: to transform all organic waste into compost.
As in the Fontaine-Écu district, a formula of “composter at the foot of the building” offers co-owners the opportunity to install a composter directly on their land, managed by local residents. For areas with high urban density, composters are installed in the center of the neighborhoods, identical but maintained directly by Sybert. Finally, the approximately 10,000 residents of the Loop, the historic center area, are entitled to a collection service at voluntary drop-off points, collected by bicycle.
Raise awareness then support
“There is at least one solution in all neighborhoods of the city, including working-class neighborhoods and social housing”assures Matthias Mennecier, evoking “a complete territorial network at the dawn of the Agec law. » Residents of the Besançon metropolis as well as the intermunicipalities of Val Marnaysien and Loue Lison (included in the territory covered by the Sybert), thus have access to 300 composting sites at the foot of buildings and 50 in the neighborhood.
Whatever the device, the watchword remains support. In ten years, awareness campaigns have followed one another to solicit the participation of residents and explain to them, in an educational manner, how to best sort and recycle this waste. In addition to intense communication on networks and by post, training is offered to composters’ representatives at the foot of buildings and open to those who would like to better understand the biological processes at work.
Despite these efforts to get the population on board, membership remains in the minority: 20 to 25% of city dwellers (excluding individual composters) use one of the options offered in urban areas, for which they must register in advance. A trend which, however, has recently accelerated: “In view of the multiple requests received since mid-2023, this participation will increase in 2024”rejoices Claudine Caulet, vice-president of Sybert.
Precautions to avoid illegal dumping
Like all the others administered, once registered, Bastien obtained a bio-bucket for free. Whether it’s rain or wind, this young father of two comes to empty his 7-liter container at least once a week in the neighborhood composter near his building. A code received at the time of registration allows you to open the bins, which are padlocked to avoid illegal dumping.
Some residents, thinking that such a composting project would lead to an increase in illegal dumping, are reluctant. In reality, as with the gray trash, “Illegal dumping of waste remains minimal. It’s a little more frequent the first two or three years, but it eventually stops.” reassures Aline Vieille, co-manager of Trivial Compost. As for the other nuisances feared by those who resist, such as odors and rodents, professionals are clear: they are rare if the compost is well installed and well maintained.
Deconstruct preconceived ideas
Explaining good practices and deconstructing preconceived ideas is also one of Sybert’s many missions. Master composter, Benoît Robelin has made it his hobby horse: “We are taking a step forwardsays the employee. Our goal is to prevent people from taking two steps backwards because of poor management, which can encourage nuisance. »
Met during a sale of individual composters, he repeats to anyone who will listen “three golden rules” : “Aerate by stirring from time to time, balance by adding crushed material (dead leaves, wood shavings) and check that it is neither too dry nor too humid. »“It requires a minimum of maintenance to recycle your wastehe explains to each resident as he hands them their brand new equipment. A composter is not a rotter! »
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Lots of organic waste to recycle
In France, only 20 million inhabitants will have access to a sorting solution at the source of their bio-waste as of January 1, 2024, according to Ademe. The objective is to cover 27 million French people by the end of the year, or 40% of the population.
On average, a French person’s gray trash can weighs 240 kg per year. In it, the weight of organic waste that can be recovered is estimated at 83 kg and the weight of food waste at 60 kg.
Still according to Ademe, it takes on average one year to deploy a collection project separated on the scale of a community of municipalities of 50,000 citizens.
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