Toulouse Métropole finally at the rendezvous for the extension of sorting consignments
Despite its lag compared to other areas of Occitanie in terms of waste sorting and recovery, Toulouse Métropole has managed to be there. As required by law since January 1 [1]finally, the local authority applies the extension of sorting instructions.
This has been simplified, with all paper, cardboard, metal and plastic packaging now going into the same blue bin – which will eventually be yellow like elsewhere in France. Until then, only 8% of the inhabitants of Haute-Garonne could carry out this exhaustive sorting, against 63% at the scale of the region. Until three weeks ago, only paper, cardboard, metal and certain PET and PEHB resin bottles and bottles could be recycled. The majority of plastics had to be thrown away with household waste and incinerated.
In 2021, some 30,200 tonnes of recyclable waste were collected on the territory of Toulouse Métropole, i.e. 37 kg per inhabitant. With the simplification of sorting, the objective is to reach a volume of 33,000 tonnes, or 41 kg per inhabitant. But for now, the information has not yet gone well. According to a recent opinion poll, only 17% of residents are aware of the extension of sorting instructions, Jean-Luc Moudenc said on Tuesday during a press conference. The mayor of Toulouse and president of Toulouse Métropole is nevertheless counting on it to further reduce the production of household waste. “We were, in 2010, at 472 kg per inhabitant and per year compared to 447 kg in 2021. We are on a good trajectory. By absorbing waste at source, the aim is to increase to 420 kg next year. »
Surtri in Lozère
But for the metropolis, this extension of sorting consignments comes at a cost. Its two essentially mechanical sorting centers in Sesquières and Bessières are not equipped to handle all plastics. The delay in their modernization taken by the mixed union Decoset, which manages selective sorting for the eight large communities in the north of Haute-Garonne, i.e. the equivalent of 152 municipalities and one million inhabitants, will only be caught up in 2025. This is the date on which the new sorting center in Bessières, equipped with optical reading, will come into service.
Also read: Recycling. How Haute-Garonne is trying to catch up
Until then, Decoset will have to “subcontract”. Part of the waste from the Toulouse sorting center, whose capacity is 20,000 tonnes per year, will be transported to Lozère to be “sursorted” there. And between 5 and 10,000 tonnes per year will be submitted to Drimm, a recovery center located in Montech, in Tarn-et-Garonne.
These “transitional solutions” will lead to an additional cost of 2 million euros per year at the expense of Decoset, specifies Vincent Terrail-Novès, vice-president of Toulouse Métropole and president of the joint syndicate. Regarding the future site of Bessières, a project valued at 46 million euros, we should know the names of the companies in charge of the work and operation in the coming weeks. “This is a global market, we are in the allocation phase”, specifies the elected official.
The new packaging sorted by the inhabitants of the metropolis will supply specific recovery channels, installed “99% in France and Europe”, underlines Laure Poddevin, Occitanie regional director of Citeo. This eco-organization manages and coordinates the collection and recycling of household packaging throughout France in conjunction with local authorities and businesses. It is also he who collects 800 million euros each year from manufacturers as part of the packaging contribution. This is reversed to local authorities, in proportion to the volumes of waste collected. Toulouse Métropole receives 5 million euros per year.
Johanna Decorse
On the photo: Laure Poddevin, Occitanie regional director of Citeo, Jean-Luc Moudenc, mayor of Toulouse and president of Toulouse Métropole and Vincent Terrail-Novès, vice-president of Toulouse Métropole and president of the mixed union, during the press conference this Tuesday, January 17 on the extension of sorting consignments in metropolitan France. Credit: Hélène Ressayres-ToulÉco.
Remarks
[1] ECT is a regulatory obligation for all municipalities in France defined by the Energy Transition law of August 2015 and then by the Anti-waste law for a circular economy of February 2021.