“It’s a disaster”… In the Haute Gironde, the end of waste collection pushes the limits

“My poor girl, something to be upset about,” says Lillian, 86, in the heart of Saint-Andre-de-Qubesque, twenty-five minutes north of Bordeaux. “My daughter-in-law told me I can put my boxes and plastic here,” she says, standing in front of the brand new voluntary waste collection point. The rest will be at home, with the card. » Lillian misses the times when waste collectors passed by her house every week and now has to go to a voluntary drop-off terminal opened using a card. “It’s a disaster, it’s making us… we don’t need it at our age,” says the octogenarian, bitterly, before getting behind the wheel of his little red car.

From October 1, 2023, door-to-door waste collection is no longer guaranteed in around seven municipalities in Haute Gironde. The union responsible for collection, Smikval, through Hélène Boisseau, director of operational deployment, assures that “people are happy with the system. The tidal wave that was promised to us has not happened and the user reception service is not overwhelmed with calls. However, in the long term, related More than 40 of the region’s 137 municipalities (the system should be expanded gradually) will challenge the decision in court, asking for a moratorium and a dialogue that makes room for organizations and citizens’ representatives. The process should begin before the summer.

Towards personalized invoicing, “the last lever of incentive for reduction”

“All the studies show that the perception is more realistic when you bring it in than when you put it in the bin,” says Claire DeFrance, director of modeling and exploration at Smikval. According to her, the Union’s overall project, called “IMPACT”, aims to “make consumers responsible for waste” by taking preventive measures to reduce it. And it is urgent.

Because, in the Haute Gironde, which does not have an incinerator, Smiqueval buries 60,000 tons of waste every year in the city of Lapouiade and it is very expensive. However, the general tax on polluting activities (TGAP) increases the price: 18 euros per ton per year in 2019, currently 58 euros and in 2025… 65 euros. And to go further, the tax on household waste (Tiom), which continues. Currently levied on the 20,000 residents concerned, it will be replaced by an incentive fee in 2027. The amount is still unknown. Hélène Boisseau clarifies that “when there is technological uniformity, we will move towards individual invoicing, which is the last lever of the incentive for reduction”.

Remember that, legally, household waste must be halved by 2050. With 600 kg per year and currently per inhabitant, Smikval then aims, thanks to “IMPACT”, to go below the 400 kg mark here by 2030. And while the collection should eventually be extended to 137 municipalities managed by Smikval (more than 200,000 people), Smikval is also counting on the implementation of compostable waste recovery nationally from January 1 2024.

The “Don’t Touch My Trash” collective, which brings together 1,400 members, argues that citizens suffering from inflation have no choice but to over-package products from manufacturers. “And if you believe that here people were waiting for Smikaval to fertilize their gardens,” quips one of its members, Arnaud Bobet, waving at a pavilion scattered across the countryside.

“Be bedridden to avail door-to-door service”

Traveling from Haute Gironde, we realize that the villagers share a terminal, which they must reach by car. “I took my car to collect the waste, which I hadn’t done before,” says Arnaud Bobet. And even if we can occasionally take advantage of existing routes, let’s stop talking nonsense, it’s not always. » “It doesn’t work when it rains, you have to wear a cloth to clean before you put the trash,” says Hélène, who lives in Saint-André-de-Qubesac. I’m almost 80 so I’m worried about the future as you really have to be bedridden to benefit from the door-to-door service. »

Smikwal explains that he solved the problem by working with department services to establish criteria. They retained those who receive Personal Autonomy Allowance (APA), those who receive Disabled Adults Allowance (AAH) at over 80%, but also those who are separated depending on the presence of relatives. “All the people who meet the criteria can contact us or their town hall, and the collection is organized by bag,” assures Hélène Boisseau, director of operational deployment at Smikval. We have about a hundred people who have declared themselves. »

A policy that makes the “don’t touch my trash” collective jump. It is an “intrusion into people’s medical records”, argues Arnaud Bobbet, and also means, in his view, that some disabled people, without assistance, would not be entitled to this service.

“People are swinging everywhere and that’s already the case”

“Every weekend, the terminal is full,” argues Arnaud Bobet, with supporting photos. An island with a terminal (for household waste, recycling of packaging and food scraps) will fulfill its function for 150 residents or 70 households, according to Smikwal. The collective puts forward 250 houses and assures that in the public meeting, it was promised that the terminal will be emptied when 75% of the filling is identified, thanks to a chip. “They’re connected to software that allows us to control their fill rates,” Smikwal maintains.

The fact is that, many times, bags pile up at the feet of the terminal. Today, in many places, it is easy to see garbage piled up outside overflowing containers. “We cannot talk about illegal dumping when they are linked to equipment malfunctions,” assures Arnaud Bobet, when the town hall finds itself managing this abandoned waste. The mayor of the neighboring city of Marsenais is already feeling the effects of closing the collection. “Illegal dumping has increased and will only get worse,” believes Patrick Pelaton. By blocking seven routes (per year and authorized in recycling centers per household), people will throw away everywhere and it already is. »

Backpedal to Toulouse and Blois

The Toulouse court ordered the Coeur de Garonne community to restore door-to-door collection by the end of 2023, arguing that there were too many obstacles for users, including the distance from voluntary collection points to homes or transport. Cars causing nuisance and health hazards. In Maconais and Blois, we also backpedal. “The terminal can be in the city center but in rural areas, you have to be house-to-house,” sums up Arnaud Bobet, who hopes to take a step back in the Haute Gironde.

Smicval, for his part, is convinced that the “effect” goes in the direction of history and predicts that there will be no further discussion in 2027 when the incentive fee will come into effect). “No one will go back to sorting packaging in the same way, the region will change,” assures Smikwal. No feeling of being cut off. We will keep residents informed as we go. » The union still says it would have preferred new national rules for compostable waste. If Smikvall has the impression of clearing the land a bit, the inhabitants also apparently have the feeling of clearing the plaster.