Amétyst is getting into composting (for good). Originally, when it was commissioned in 2008, the Montpellier anaerobic digestion plant was supposed to recover the organic part of domestic waste by producing biogas (source of electricity and heat) and compost.
For electricity and heating, the bet has been successful since it provides part of the electricity consumed by the inhabitants of the metropolis. The process also makes it possible to heat the 2,000 housing units in the Grisettes district and the nearby Saint-Roch clinic. “Amétyst can halve the share of waste intended for incineration or landfill,” explains the town hall.
35,000 t of food waste could be treated each year
The compost, on the other hand, of very poor quality, had proved unusable. So much so that the city was supplied with compost, for its green spaces, from the neighbors of the Center Hérault union. But since the beginning of the year, a “green line”, dixit François Vasquez (vice-president of the metropolis in charge of waste) recycles biowaste correctly sorted at the source, by the inhabitants. “1,500 t of compost were produced from 1,900 t of bio-waste”.
Just a first stone. 35,000 t of food waste and 25,000 t of green waste are thrown annually into the gray bin by the inhabitants of the metropolis and could be transformed into compost. The (ambitious) objective of the municipal majority is to achieve zero waste during the term of office. An environmental gesture and a financial gesture: since 2019, with the closure of the third locker in Castries, the metropolis exports its waste at an annual cost of 11 million euros.
Awareness, motivation … and punishment
“The quality of the sorting will determine the success of this mobilization. We will carry out a large number of awareness-raising actions. The higher the quality of the bio-waste produced by the inhabitants, the better the compost ”, summarizes the mayor (PS) Michaël Delafosse. “In March and April, we will present the city’s roadmap on the zero waste strategy”.
This policy will give pride of place to awareness. “I say to the inhabitants of the metropolis, bring out your orange bins”, exclaims François Vasquez. It will also include a repression component for the inhabitants continuing to produce waste in too large a proportion.