A Pugnac, like in 27 communes of Haute-Gironde, garbage collectors no longer pick up trash in front of the door. Since the beginning of the year, in this town of 2,400 inhabitants, you must deposit your waste in bins which open with individual cards, installed by Smicval, the joint union which manages waste. A system not very popular with its inhabitants. “It’s a nameless mess. We pile up trash bags in the trunk, in the garage,” Juliette moans. “When I have children it’s two to three trash cans per week,” says this resident of Saint-André-de-Cubzac, a town also concerned.
Bart does not accept this change of habit. “I don't see why our trash cans were taken away. I'm 56 years old, I've always seen garbage collectors passing by, it worked very well.” This resident of the town center points out illegal dumping at collection points. “Me, if the trash cans are full, I go home with my trash. The others, they leave them around,” he says, showing photos taken with his phone. For another downtown resident, who carries one bag in the trunk and another in the back seat, the problem is the price, “I paid more this year than last year and what’s more, I’m the one who brings my trash.” he complains.
Thomas Coignac
The Smicval represents a total of 137 municipalities. 27 have already switched to this model. Eight more are expected to follow by the end of the year. For others, including the 45 municipalities belonging to the agglomeration community of Libourne, we will wait at least for the municipal elections of 2026. But this Thursday, 52 mayors will demonstrate against this announced change. A new action, while a collective “Don’t touch my trash” has already been formed. The matter even went up to the National Assembly, when the deputy (RN) Edwige Diaz, elected in Haute-Gironde, had an amendment adopted citing this reform.
The budget having been rejected by the deputies, the amendment will probably not stand. But this shows, all the same, the resonance taken by the subject.
The “feeling” of a less efficient public service
For his part, the president of Smicval, Sylvain Guinaudie understands the “sentiment” a weakening of public service. But he defends the 24/7 accessibility of these collection points. He explains that this measure is built “to meet regulatory obligations, and in the face of costs that we cannot control”. Despite the criticism, he praises the support of residents. Those who are affected “sort much better”, he notes. “The quantity of household waste has increased from 200 kilos per year per resident to 140”. Less waste means less costs, he calculates, and lower taxes for residents. “The rate for municipalities moving to the collective contribution point increased by 0.8%. The others, by 7-8%.”
He found an ally in the largest municipality affected by this new system: Saint-André-de-Cubzac and its 13,000 inhabitants. It must be said that the socialist mayor Célia Monseigne was part of the Smicval office which made the decision to change the model. “There is no magic system”, she tempers. “Before the reform, we had people who left their trash cans on the sidewalks all year round. And as soon as it was windy, we found all the contents of the trash cans on the roads.” points out the chosen one.
18 months after the change of system, she noticed some illegal deposits, far from being the majority. But, “I see a lot of people sorting, especially young people”, she assures. Not sure that this speech will convince the many refractories, who are therefore meeting this Thursday.
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