Bottles of water, soda, olive oil, shampoo or even perfume blocked by Nice airport security are no longer lost to everyone: for two years, distracted passengers have had the possibility of offering them to Restos du coeur.
Second airport in France after Paris, with traffic of more than 14 million passengers last year, Nice-Côte-d’Azur airport was the first to launch this initiative, which is already being emulated.
While the law requires them to destroy all prohibited items seized in carry-on baggage, airports have long sought solutions to allow passengers to check items in the hold or send them by post. But the waste remains monumental: in Nice, several hundred thousand objects are destroyed each year.
In 2022, the airport therefore contacted Restos du coeur. To circumvent the very restrictive regulations, the partnership has set up a donation possibility, first via a written form of a few lines at ” filtering inspection station » (PIF), and now by simple verbal agreement, on all lines of control.
Unexpected consequence, the measure facilitates the work of agents by reducing frustrations and aggressiveness: “ When they had to say, ‘I’m sorry but your one liter bottle of PDO olive oil cannot go with you’, there was tension. Now people say to themselves, ‘at least I’m giving it to people who need it.‘,” explains Aymeric Staub, airport spokesperson.
Only a handful of passengers refuse the donation option, either because the language barrier makes it impossible to explain it to them, or because they fear that the agents will keep the objects for themselves.
Most often, these are bottles of water or drinks bought too early and stressed travelers absently accept the donation and run to catch their plane. But there are also lots of hygiene products and local souvenirs: tapenade, jams, perfumery products…
Since 2022, the Restaurants have also had 18 irons, pétanque sets and a disc grinder. But blunt objects, weapons, fresh products or those that have been opened are always thrown away.
Quality products “
Three times a week, two volunteers show up with a small van to collect the fruits of this miraculous catch: on average 700 kg of donations per week, with peaks of one tonne during the Cannes festival or the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Monaco, which are seeing an increase in both the number of passengers and their purchasing power.
The boxes are then taken to a Restaurant center and their contents sorted then distributed between five offices in the city.
Hygiene products are particularly appreciated: “ We provide some, but it’s standard hygiene, the products we collect are of quality“, explains René Clausse, local manager of Restos du coeur.
In the Turin route office, where the Restaurants support 900 families in the north-east of Nice, boxes from the airport are placed at the entrance. Their volume remains symbolic compared to the mountains of basic products distributed, but they constitute a little extra which feels good, explains a volunteer.
Beneficiaries who come to fill their shopping cart can each choose a product. Many speak French poorly and struggle to decide between bottles of shampoo, shower gel or hairspray, but everyone thanks profusely.
Faced with the success, several other airports or Restaurant branches have contacted to organize a similar partnership with them. Paris airports launched an operation last year, Lille airport is in discussions… “ Setting up takes a long time. The whole organization is difficult. But it will happen“, rejoices Mr. Clausse.
