better sort your waste to avoid a tax increase, a successful bet

Since I have been sorting, I have noticed that my black bin is much less full. On the other hand, the yellow overflows very quickly. In Nouvion-sur-Meuse (Ardennes), a town located near Charleville-Mézières, Nelly has a well-established organization. Once her yellow bin is full, she stores her packaging for recycling in the garage. And his father takes care of sliding the glass into the sorting terminal. But the Ardennese has not yet mastered all the instructions.

“The aluminum goes in the yellow bin, the plastic caps too. And remember to flatten the bottles rather than crush them into a ball,” recalls Yanick Lecourtier, during a door-to-door campaign organized that day. Alongside her colleague Nathalie Sartelet, the Ardenne Métropole sorting ambassador supports her speech with explanations so that the tenant understands the benefit of her actions.

Since September 2021, the 57 municipalities of the Charleville-Mézières and Sedan agglomeration have set themselves an objective: to reduce their volume of waste by 8,000 tonnes (household waste and bulky items combined) by 2025. “We anticipated the increase in the tax on waste, which will increase from 17 euros per tonne in 2019 to 65 euros in 2025″, recalls the president of the urban community, Boris Ravignon, who wanted to be able to keep his commitment not to increase taxation . Thanks to around twenty measures – including the creation of sorting ambassador positions to raise awareness among the population – and a broad communication campaign, the objective was achieved by December 31, 2023. And the “trash tax” paid by inhabitants has not evolved.

8,240 composters distributed

A few hours earlier, Yanick Lecourtier gave Michel, a septuagenarian, a composter kit, a bio-bucket and a guide to the basics of composting. Since 2019, the metropolis has distributed 8,240. Other distribution: 220 households have already adopted chickens for free since 2020. Peach and Daisy joined Chrystèle's garden last year in Sedan. “I give them leftovers from the table: vegetables, pasta, rice, meat fat…” Enough to lighten the household waste bin, since a hen can ingest 150 kg of food scraps per year.

Flagship measure of the program, for two years, garbage trucks have only come every two weeks – except in the city center of Charleville-Mézières and Sedan and in collective housing districts, where collection takes place every week . The measure raises eyebrows, forcing citizens to review their habits. “They have the impression that they are being asked to do more even though they pay so much,” recognizes Jean-Luc Claude, vice-president of the metropolis, responsible for waste. We must make them understand that without it, they would pay more. »

In the small spaces of buildings, the equation becomes more complex. So the agglomeration works with social landlords. “We are in the process of removing garbage chutes, which do not encourage sorting. And when the landlord renovates a kitchen, he will install a three-container trash can,” illustrates Jean-Luc Claude. As compostable waste represented, in 2021, 79 of the 200 kg annual avoidable waste per inhabitant of Ardenne Métropole, the community installed around thirty collective composters at the foot of buildings and around thirty others in voluntary communities. A way to facilitate the adoption of this new gesture for those who do not have a garden.

A bonus resource

As for bulky items, individuals are made aware of them as soon as they arrive at the recycling center. “We have to fight to get them sorted. They have the reflex to throw everything into the mix,” breathes Nathalie Sartelet, who notes on a daily basis that the room for progress remains large. To extend the life of objects, for example, a resource center opened in November at the entrance to the Waridon recycling center. Repairable or reusable objects are received as is (household appliances, textiles, toys, furniture, etc.). Another similar third location is expected to open later this year.

Galvanized by an objective reached earlier than expected, the waste service of the urban community has set itself a new objective: to achieve a reduction of 10,000 tonnes, compared to 2021, within two years. “We could reduce levies if we collected less,” says the president of the agglomeration, Boris Ravignon, who hopes to be able to effectively reconcile ecology and purchasing power.