It’s 6 p.m. on a Friday evening. Around ten residents gathered in Roubaix town hall around heating cauldrons to follow a rather special workshop: making your own solid shampoo using natural products. The finished product is package-free, good for health and the environment.
“The goal is to offer a simple recipe, with ingredients that can be easily found,” explains Tiphanie, head of Cosmetic Potions, the city’s service provider since 2020. Around the table, we discuss and exchange advice: “Did you know that you can wash your hair by simply cracking an egg on your head? You can also use a little cornstarch as a dry shampoo to space out washes…”
Since 2014, the city of Roubaix has increased initiatives aimed at reducing waste on its territory. “In 2013, I met Alexandre Garcin, who promoted the idea of zero waste through a citizen initiative. It’s a real wake-up call,” recalls Mayor Guillaume Delbar, who then suggested that he join his list for the municipal election.
Alexandre Garcin
It is first of all with the aim of combating the numerous dumping of waste on street corners that the idea of a “zero waste challenge” emerged in Roubaix. The objective: to act at the root, while the city of 100,000 inhabitants does not have the responsibility for waste management, devolved to the European metropolis of Lille (MEL). For ten years, Alexandre Garcin, deputy mayor responsible for ecological transition, has embodied this ambition. He was inspired by the Italian town of Capannori, “where a schoolteacher, Rossano Ercolini, created the zero waste movement to oppose the construction of an incinerator”. A movement which, according to him, is proof “that it is possible to reconcile the end of the month and the end of the world”.
800 “zero waste” families
That year, Roubaix responded to the call for projects launched by the Ministry of Ecology in favor of zero waste and initiated the “family challenge”. Households in the municipality are invited to reduce their garbage volume by half over one year. Participating families benefit from dedicated support and can attend practical workshops. “The objective was to initiate a change in consumption over the long term to…
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