• To enable the recovery of residents' bio-waste, several cities are opting for "voluntary drop-off points", terminals where you can come and dump your peelings and leftovers.
  • As in Lyon or Strasbourg, these new types of bins are arriving in large numbers in the different districts of Nantes. And on the sidewalks, "you can't miss them."

One was fixed to the ground at the entrance of a residence, two others near the bus stop, three more at the end of the street... For the past few weeks, residents of the Doulon-Bottière district of Nantes have seen hundreds of new garbage cans grow on the sidewalks. "Ah, that's everywhere," confirms Laurianne, who counted no less than eight on the short journey home. Considering how big they are, you can't miss them. But at least there's enough to hold peels from it! »

While the law requires local authorities to provide a bio-waste sorting solution to their residents from January 1, 2024, things are moving in some large cities. In Nantes and in several other cities, which are rather ahead of the curve and are therefore particularly observed, it is the solution of "voluntary drop-off points" that has been chosen for the various districts, outside the city centre.

By spring 2024, nearly 2,500 white and brown pedal skips will be deployed throughout the City of Dukes to receive food scraps from residents, who produce 45 kg per year. "It's not very pretty, but it could be interesting," said a resident we met on Rue du Croissant. As with everything, we'll get used to it! In Lyon, the movement is the same: the thousandth charging station has just been inaugurated, with the aim of quickly doubling.

One collector for every 50 households

The system has been tested for several years in Nantes North and has already proven its worth. According to Mahel Coppey, vice-president in charge of waste at Nantes Métropole, four tonnes are already collected each week in this district and then sent to a composting platform in Vallet, in the Nantes vineyards. And sorting errors would be minimal (about 5%), hence the desire to generalize the service, and to further strengthen the network, even if it may seem excessive.

"We started at one drop-off point for 65 households, but for a real useful and local service, we went to one point for every 50," explains Nantes Métropole. The signage is deliberately marked so that they are noticed, so that the inhabitants take hold of this new gesture. The locations were chosen for their visibility while meeting fairly strict siting rules, so as not to hinder the pedestrian path for example. By way of comparison, in the metropolis of Strasbourg, 1,800 collectors will be installed by 2025, at a rate of one for every 300 inhabitants.

To help convert the people of Nantes, airtight buckets accompanied by a small guide are being distributed (or available in the relevant district town halls) by agents, which will allow you to store your peelings at home before throwing them all away at once. The community also wants to reassure about the "pest control system" installed at the bottom of the skips, which will be emptied once a week and "cleaned regularly", especially in the summer.

Across the city, food waste represents a potential source of 29,000 tonnes per year. The cost of collecting this bio-waste (calculated thanks to the experiment carried out in Nantes-Nord) is 11 euros per year and per inhabitant.

  • Planet
  • Nantes
  • Loire-Atlantique
  • Pays de la Loire
  • Rubbish
  • Food Waste
  • Dustbin