A queue in front of the Rezé recycling center, in the Nantes suburbs. Friday May 22, 2020. - F.Brenon / 20Minutes

  • The wait to access a recycling center often exceeds an hour.
  • The number of vehicles that can enter the site is limited.
  • In addition, many people have accumulated all kinds of recyclable waste.

Amazing scenes that repeat themselves. Fully reopened since May 11 thanks to deconfinement, the ecopoints and recycling centers of the Nantes metropolis are again stormed this Friday. Like last weekend, it takes more than an hour to reach most of the sites. And sometimes it's much more. At the Rezé recycling center, for example, it took around 1 hour 45 minutes this afternoon.

The main explanation is the access limitations. For health security reasons, entry is limited to three vehicles per platform at a time (two for ecopoints). And only one person per vehicle is allowed to descend. A constraint imposed while many residents have accumulated all kinds of waste after two months of confinement. Green and “all comers” waste being the most visible in the trunks and trailers.

Always impressive queues to access the recycling centers. As here in Rezé, 1h45 of queue. Summary in 7 sec. pic.twitter.com/EWehnrsDVt

- 20 Minutes Nantes (@ 20minutesnantes) May 22, 2020

"It will be the same for at least eight days"

"I did not dare come the first week but I had no choice, it was piling up on me," says Nicolas, who started renovating his house in April. Jean-Paul is on his third turn in a few days to help out his “working children”. "This wait is crazy! I hesitated to come but it will be the same for at least another eight days, ”he laments. Patrick, too, resolved to wait. “I had a fire in a garden shed and I had a lot of debris to get rid of. I couldn't wait! "

Faced with the endless lines of cars, another Patrick had preferred to turn around twice. Last Tuesday, he finally got rid of part of his green waste at the Prairie de Mauves waste collection center in Nantes. “This time, I stayed despite the 500 m line. I waited at least an hour and a half! "

In order to limit waiting times, Nantes Métropole asks users to sort their waste well before arriving on site. And keep at home "glass, paper, cardboard, wood, hazardous waste and all comers" while waiting for the situation to return to normal.

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  • Deconfinement
  • Waste
  • Nantes