AI cameras to fight fly-tipping at communal bins in south-west France
Vandalism is rife in areas with bin incentive charges
Bags piled up at communal facilities in the Dordogne
Carrie Hill
It has become an everyday sight: piles of black bags and rubbish building up beside the communal bins in Dordogne since a new waste collection scheme began in 2023.
Vandalism of the bins is widespread: The cost of clearing up the fly-tipping and repairing bin damage is adding to what many users already consider to be an expensive scheme.
Now, starting this year, security cameras are to be installed at some of the bins.
Payment for the Dordogne scheme is by an incentive fee, or redevance incitative. You pay a fixed standing charge, plus a flat rate depending on the number of people in your household.
For 2025, the charge of €272.49 for a two-person household is up 5.2% on last year. Payment allows 26 openings of the 60-litre communal rubbish bin compartment and 26 visits to the local rubbish tip.
A set rate then applies to everyone of €5.88 per extra bin opening and €11.08 for an additional visit to the tip.
Part of the SMD3’s aim is to reduce the amount of landfill and its 2023 annual report confirmed that ‘black bag’ rubbish had gone down 43% between 2019 and 2023.
It also intends the new system to be a fairer charging scheme for users.
For those who choose to minimise household rubbish, however, the scheme works out expensive per bag as they do not need the 60-litre capacity each opening.
One resident told The Connexion: “The system worked fine before and was cheaper. If you live in the countryside, you give leftover food to your animals, you make compost, you burn cardboard on the fire. There is hardly any rubbish left for the bin.”
Some residents choose not to pay the extra charge and leave rubbish beside the bins instead. Others throw their bin bags into the general recycling bin, which can be opened without a card.
Vandalism is rife, with card scanners on the bins damaged so they can be opened and used for free. In some cases, bins have been set alight.
Now the SMD3 has to pick up the extra rubbish left beside them and municipal workers are left to deal with the fly-tipped waste dumped elsewhere.
Around 3,000 incidents were reported to the SMD3 in 2024. In partnership with communes, the SMD3 now plans to install cameras at bin points this year.
Pascal Protano, president of the SMD3, expects the scheme to cost around €100,000, reports radio station Ici Périgord.
These cameras will work with an AI system to detect fly-tipping and damage so the culprits can be identified and fined.
Read more: Bin collections in western France changed amid cross-border dumping row
Many people are unconvinced the new plan will help.
One resident told The Connexion: “People will just go at night or hide their faces.”
The SMD3’s budget for managing illegal rubbish dumping was set to be €236,539 for 2025, with that mainly covering personnel costs.
New incentive fee schemes for rubbish disposal continue to replace the old TEOM tax (taxe d’enlèvement des ordures ménagères) across many areas.
The Pays de Fayence in Var has just begun a test year using the new charge, and communities in Vendée are due to put the scheme in place from next year.
The Sicoval area to the south-east of Toulouse has announced its own tactic to deal with the community’s fly-tipping problems.
Residents who pay the flat rate charge for rubbish disposal but who do not actually use the bins will see their annual flat rate charge increase.
Thirty-six communes will be affected, with the Sicoval website stating that 10% of residents currently make no rubbish deposits, according to information gathered from electronic chips on the bins.
Sicoval officials voted for the rate rise to make sure everyone is paying fairly. Households may be exempt from the increase if they can justify not using the bins, such as if a home is empty or the owner is travelling for work.
