It’s not the sexiest subject out there. But it concerns all the inhabitants. The treatment of household waste will be the subject of an exceptional investment budget from Nantes metropolis : no less than 136 million euros will be released to him during the mandate (2020-2026), i.e. three times more than in the previous mandate. Objective: to recycle 65% of household waste produced (currently 31%) and reduce their volume by 20%. The adoption of the budget, submitted this Thursday to
vote of elected officials of the metropolitan council, is accompanied by an “ambitious” measure concerning food waste.
For a year, a separate collection of peelings, remains of plates and other expired foodstuffs has been experimented by 1,650 families in the northern districts of Nantes. Residents are invited to put their bio-waste in a compost bucket, then empty it at a collective collection point near their homes. Unlike bags of household garbage, this organic waste is no longer incinerated but “valued” in compost to “feed the soil and crops”. The experiment, which exists in other districts on a smaller scale, is considered sufficiently “satisfactory” to be now extended to all the Nantes-north districts (approximately 25,000 inhabitants). And this is only a first step.
A planned compost plant
Pressed by the national regulations, the metropolis intends to extend this system to the entire city of Nantes in 2023-2024, starting with the island of Nantes and Nantes south. Then the turn of all 24 municipalities in the metropolis will come by 2026. The voluntary contribution points will then be “multiplied”. A compost bucket will be distributed to each household.
Part of the compost from bio-waste will be used to enrich the city’s green spaces, another will be sold to “local farmers”. “The quantities collected will be such that it will necessarily be necessary to move from an artisanal scale to an industrial scale. We will have to team up, ”warns Mahel Coppey (EELV), vice-president of Nantes Métropole. The creation of a metropolitan compost plant is being considered.
In addition, the elected representatives of Nantes Métropole will also vote this Thursday on the abandonment of the Tri’sac collection system, which concerns 70% of the inhabitants of the city of Nantes. The blue and yellow Tri’sac bags will largely be replaced by bins.