Waste sorting: the Sarthois are good students

France Bleu Maine: are the Sarthois good students when it comes to sorting?

Frédéric Quintart : Yes, exactly like Pays-de-la-Loire which is the second region in France in terms of performance. And the people of Sarthe are directly involved in these good performances, given that we see that overall performances continue to evolve in Sarthe between 2022 and 2023

What is the weight of the packaging sorted last year by the people of Sarthe?

This represents approximately 79 kilos per inhabitant per year in Sarthe. Overall, thanks to the sorting action of the Sarthois, almost 46,000 tonnes of waste were able to be recycled over the year 2023.

79 kilos is good, but it is less than the regional average which is 94 kilos. For what ?

There are local contexts, territories which are more touristy than others. What is also important is to underline the dynamic that has been initiated in Sarthe following the simplification of the sorting process where all packaging and all papers are sorted. We also observe in Sarthe that incentive pricing is really well applied and concerns more than 41% of the population. Which is a marker of this dynamic and advances the sorting process.

What do you mean by incentive pricing?

This corresponds to what you put in your household waste bin. You pay according to what you produce, the same as water, the same as electricity. You have a certain number of lifts that are as part of a package. And beyond this number of tricks, you pay for the additional tricks. This is a real incentive, it makes it possible to reduce the household waste bin by 30 to 50% and it has a direct impact on the sorting process, given that there is between 20 and 30% more household packaging in yellow bins thanks to the implementation of this incentive pricing.

When we look in detail at the sorting of different waste, we see, however, that the percentage of glass and paper sorted by Sarthe residents is decreasing in 2023. How can this be explained since you tell us that we are good students?

This is explained quite simply. It is not the act of sorting by Sarthe residents that has decreased in intensity, but it is a cyclical effect.
Today, there is less consumption of glass, less consumption of paper, notably with the end of leaflets in mailboxes. From the moment you have less paper and glass available, the kilos sorted per inhabitant tend to decrease, but in no case does this reflect the sorting gesture of the Sartois.

The Pays de la Loire region ranks second in terms of sorting performance behind Brittany. What explains this performance of the two western regions?

It is directly linked to culture and citizen involvement. This is also due to the structuring because it is true that for the sorting process to be carried out well, there must be collection services behind it, there must be sorting centers which are effective. And there, we can also salute all the work that is done by the local authorities of these territories which, for years, have structured their territory and made available to the people of Sarth, for example, the means which are adapted to continue to develop the sorting gesture.

What does this go through? Additional collection points? More efficient recycling centers?

That's it. It's a global reflection on collection services. This is for example the transition from yellow bags to bins because when you have a bin, you sort more easily. This involves additional voluntary drop-off points to drop off your drink. The proximity makes it easier for you to deposit your waste. And then a subject that is essential is communication, user awareness. In Brittany and Pays de la Loire there is a culture, a dynamic of communication. And it is necessary because we see that in household waste, there is still around 25% of household paper packaging. This in-depth work, which is done with local communities, aims to collect these last kilos from household waste. Knowing that the best waste is that which we do not produce. Work is done upstream, from eco-design. And from 2025, what will be interesting is that Pays de la Loire will relaunch the deposit on glass. The reuse of glass will resume this beautiful dynamic well known in the past.

The French recycled 27% of plastic packaging in 2023 compared to 24.5% in 2022.

So it's better, but it's still half as much as the Germans.

For example, how can we catch up?

So to continue to evolve in the sorting of plastics, we must already communicate, give meaning to the sorting gesture, possibly when we have a doubt, just look, you have small applications, such as sorting guide application that you can download to your phone, you refer.

precisely, to the instructions given by local authorities.

But the action is simple, it's all the packaging and all the papers are sorted, you no longer have to think, simply the packaging does not have to be cleaned, they simply have to be emptied.

You must also place them in bulk in your container, do not nest them inside each other.

And then behind, precisely, on this dynamic of plastics,

The extension of sorting instructions, and therefore this simplification, will also continue to demonstrate its effectiveness and we see that it also contributes to this evolution of performance.

Thank you very much for these explanations Frédéric Quintard.

You are regional director of Citeo, this organization which coordinates the collection and sorting of household packaging waste.

We will remember that the Sartois are good students.

We will continue to improve, we hope.

Thank you, have a nice day.

Thank you, have a nice day in Sartois.

It's 8 to 10.

ST' 501 subtitling