Letters: French paid bin collection system works if you take care
Readers share their experiences in coping with the limited pick-ups
Bin charges and collection services vary from one area to another
JJY Photography/Shutterstock
To the Editor,
Here in Peillac, Morbihan, we have to pay additional charges after 12 collections in the year. We also have to pay additional charges if we exceed our trips to the déchetterie, which is also limited to 12 a year.
While this does not really bother me, I did find I was putting the bin out more in hot weather due to smells and maggots, but overall it worked out to just the 12 collections.
I do have a compost bin for vegetable refuse which keeps the decaying debris to a minimum. However I still have leftover food of animal origin which is not good in hot weather, despite being securely wrapped (in plastic).
I found it very frustrating last year as, after my husband died, I asked for a smaller bin.
I eventually received it six months into the billing cycle and asked for a refund for the difference in the size of the bin, which is €10 a year.
I eventually received a letter saying they were refunding me €5 which had to be claimed within a month. I filled in the form and hand delivered it to my local finance office. But then I received a letter asking for proof of my house ownership (presumably as my husband had died).
I decided that for €5 it just wasn't worth submitting all the documentation asked for. If the government wishes to deprive an elderly widow of her €5 refund, it doesn't say much about the system. It wasn't the money, but just the principle.
Anne Harding, Morbihan
Read more: Millions more homes in France to face ‘pay to throw extra’ bin fees
To the Editor,
I noted a recent article in the Connexion concerning expensive rubbish collection.
My experience is very different. I live in a village in the Allier with my wife. We have a rubbish collection every week, all year round. The first week is for "ordinary" rubbish and the second is for recyclables.
I pay €216 per year, collected as part of our taxe foncière, approximately €4 per collection. In addition, we have an excellent public déchetterie just five minutes away where I can dispose of all types of rubbish at no extra cost and no limits on visits.
Peter Hetherington, Allier
