A compost bin from the Detritivores association.

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The Detritivores

  • In Marseille, the composting of organic waste remains a rather confidential practice.

    However, more and more citizens are interested in this method of recycling.

  • By the end of 2023, the Aix-Marseille metropolis will have to offer all of its citizens composting solutions.

    In the meantime, start-ups are filling this gap by directly organizing collections.

In Marseille, would the composting of waste remain a privileged habit?

Throughout France, recycling organic waste (peelings, eggshells, coffee, etc.) is still only practiced by a minority of households.

But the question of the democratization of composting is perhaps posed in Marseille more than elsewhere, and this, because the city is at the top of an inglorious ranking.

According to a study carried out in 2017 by the Zero Waste association, among the inhabitants of the ten most populous metropolises in France, those of Aix-Marseille hold the record for the production of household waste.

It is estimated that an inhabitant of Marseille produces an average of 383 kg of waste per year, against 349 kg in Paris, second in the ranking, and 227 kg in Lyon… Faced with this observation, the development of composting would make it possible to reduce the bill.

This is one of the reasons that may explain the organization, for four consecutive years, of the “Compost Month” on the initiative of the Aix-Marseille Provence metropolis.

Until the end of October, several discovery operations are carried out on the territory.

The opportunity, also, to draw up an inventory of this still little known use.

With a deadline on the horizon: that of the end of 2023, by which date local authorities must have generalized the practice of composting, in accordance with the recycling objectives set by the European Commission.

Reinforcement start-ups

According to Alice, a composting enthusiast living in the 7th arrondissement, efforts still need to be made: “the problem in Marseille is the lack of collection points.

Every week, I will put my organic waste in the nearest common compost bin, at the Sylvain theater.

It's a 15-minute walk from where I live, and the bins are often full… ”A detail that can quickly put off, since as the young woman reminds us,“ organic waste is the one that smells the worst.

So when the pickup is not done regularly, the smell becomes really repulsive.

"

By starting to harvest her compost, during the confinement period, Alice however quickly realized that thanks to this recycling, the waste she produced was drastically reduced: “food is about 90% of garbage. home.

With the compost today, I throw away a lot less, it's amazing.

Like other composting enthusiasts in France, Alice then approached one of the many start-ups that today offer to collect composts from individuals and companies.

This is the case of the Alchemists, deployed in several cities including Marseille.

“The metropolis offers bins for people with gardens.

But when you live in collective housing and there is no room to store the compost at home, there is no solution and it is a real shame because demand is increasing ”, analyzes Chloé Guillon, co-founder of the Marseille branch.

Mobilization and wallet

Indeed, according to an interactive map posted online by the metropolis, the territory has 181 collective points of composts.

But of this total, 144 bins are actually reserved for residents of the building that hosts the point, which also implies that an approach has been carried out and approved by the lessor himself.

And for that, says one on the site of the community, it is necessary first to bring together at least “fifteen voluntary households” when in Paris, the town hall indicates that only 7 volunteers are necessary.

The financial question can also be a brake.

A Marseillais wishing to obtain a vermicomposter, a kind of basin on several levels which shelters the worms - the earthworms making the compost -, will have to pay 10 euros.

In Paris, “donation campaigns” are organized and in Nantes, the metropolis is setting up purchase assistance subsidies.

No wonder for Chloé Guillon: "people already pay taxes on household waste, it is precisely so that communities take care of that", she believes.

Contacted, the metropolis assures us that “the feedback on composting practices is quite good”.

Regarding the lack of collection points, "it takes time to absorb the requests," she said.

In terms of figures, there are now 512 households equipped with a vermicomposter, and more than 12,000 with a classic individual composter.

Concerning collective bins, 15 new projects are under study.

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