the 52 municipalities of Grand Libournais and Haute Gironde opposed to the reform of waste collection launch legal action

IIt was about becoming one. And above all to give consistency to this alliance of 52 municipalities of Greater Saint-Émilionnais, Fronsadais and Haute Gironde, opposed to the reform of waste collection and treatment voted by the Smicval in September 2022. The town hall of Saint-Vivien -de-Blaye welcomed dozens of mayors this Thursday, November 14, to support the leaders of the collective. Which delivered a real indictment against the flagship provision of Néo-Smicval, the abandonment of door-to-door collection in favor of collective collection points. A decision that they consider inappropriate, arguing a “setback in public service” and a “break in equality”. They announced the launch of legal proceedings, in the presence of the movement's lawyer, Ms.^e Caroline Laveissière.

The arguments are known. The problem of elderly people, people with reduced mobility, or people who do not have vehicles to travel to the containers… But also the cleanliness of collection points. And especially in natural spaces, the cleaning of which is the responsibility of the municipalities, “the Smicval only having cleaning competence at the foot of the terminals”, recalls the elected representative of Vivien Philippe Erémié, who anticipates “a real public health problem “. A credo taken up by certain elected officials who fear “a tsunami of waste” in the surrounding forests.

Courtesy appeal

The signatory municipalities call on the Smicval, and in a barely concealed manner its president Sylvain Guinaudie, “to pull itself together” and “to put an end to its blindness”. The municipalities united consider the reform designed by medium-sized towns for medium-sized towns, and in fact unsuitable for rural areas “with diffuse housing”. Even impossible to implement in a tourist sector with classified landscapes like the Greater Saint-Émilionnais, which receives 1 to 1.5 million tourists per year, underlines Bernard Lauret, president of the said community of communes.

After a request for amicable conciliation considered by the collective as a failure, even though a meeting took place, reports Sylvain Guinaudie, a free appeal must be filed, aiming at the repeal of the decision of September 6, 2022. ” The move to collective collection points only has reason to exist if it provides a service equivalent to door-to-door collection,” argues M^e Washerwoman. Which for the plaintiffs is far from being the case. The letter motivating the appeal must be sent this Thursday “or the next day”. “The Smicval has two months to respond, a lack of response constitutes refusal. »

“The voice of our citizens”

The legal difficulty lies in the legal legitimacy of the said Smicval decision. “The communities of municipalities have the competence to collect waste,” recalled Bernard Lauret. These are our delegates who sit at Smicval. »And to recall that those of Greater Saint-Émilionnais voted “for” in conscience. “They should have consulted us before the vote. There was a lack of consultation within the intercommunality. » The members of the collective, however, claim popular legitimacy. “We carry the voice of our citizens, very present in public meetings, who expressed their opposition to the disappearance of door to door,” recalls Philippe Érémié,

The eight slingers

There remains the question of the eight “rebellious” municipalities – Gauriaguet, Cubnezais, Marsas, Marcenais, Saint-Yzan-de-Soudiac, Saint-Vivien-de-Blaye, Teuillac and Virsac – which refuse to switch to the system this end of the year. , according to the planned schedule. This even though the Smicval notified them of a stop to the door-to-door service at the end of December. “We will not move”, they reaffirm, denouncing a forced move, the joint union having also started to inform users, via flyers or telephone calls, of the evolution of the system. “It’s up to Smicval to provide an answer,” says Philippe Érémié. What is clear is that voluntary drop-off points will not be installed in these municipalities. »