Parisiennes and Parisians remember it. The strike by garbage collectors in the capital and the blocking of incinerators by opponents of the pension reform in March cost the City of Paris and its inner suburbs 21 million euros, the waste treatment union confirmed on Thursday ( Syntom).
“The cost of 21 million is linked to the entire period of this social movement, not just to the Syctom staff strike,” said a spokesperson, confirming the amount given Wednesday in the Council of Paris by an assistant to the mayor. Anne Hidalgo. This cost is linked “largely to the blocking of our factories by outsiders”, added the same source.
A peak at 10,000 tons
During the hard phase of the conflict, that is to say more than three weeks of renewable strike in March, the three incineration plants of Ivry-sur-Seine, Issy-les-Moulineaux and Saint-Ouen were blocked by employees of the sector and other opponents of government reform.
Combined with these blockages, the strike of some collectors and dumpster drivers from the City of Paris has led to a pile of waste in the streets of the capital, with a peak of more than 10,000 tonnes. Images of piles of garbage sometimes reaching several meters in height have gone around the world. Especially since they could have been used as fuel by some demonstrators.
This situation has forced Syctom, which brings together Paris and a large part of its inner suburbs, i.e. 82 municipalities in total, to transfer around 108,000 tonnes of waste to external sites. About 80% of this total was permanently buried in the ground at three large crown sites. This “alternative treatment” and this additional transport resulted in an additional cost of 17.5 million euros, specifies Syctom.
3.5 million euros in operating costs saved
To which must be added 7 million euros, explains Syctom, of “lost revenue, essentially the loss of unsold vapors” to the Parisian district heating company (CPCU), which provides heat for heating and cooling. ‘Hot water.
The steam produced by Syctom’s three factories usually allows the CPCU “to heat the equivalent of 300,000 homes, including all the hospitals of the Public Assistance – Hospitals of Paris”, he specifies.
In return, the union saved 3.5 million euros in operation with the shutdown of its factories.