Bin collections in western France changed amid cross-border dumping row

A new rubbish collection system has helped curb cross-border dumping – even though its managers insist this was not the main reason for the change.

The row between the Charente and Dordogne departments over rubbish collection, first reported in The Connexion in 2023, has reached main television news in France.

At the heart of the dispute is a system called la redevance incitative, managed by an organisation called SMD3, which is responsible for nearly all rubbish collection in Dordogne.

Under the system, households are charged for the amount of rubbish they produce to encourage recycling.

They must use electronic cards to open collection bins or have chips in their wheelie bins to register when rubbish is collected.

Read more: Residents fight pay-by-bag bin fees in south-west France

Many Dordogne residents say they are being charged much more than under the old system, where rubbish collection fees were included in the local taxe foncière property tax. Exact figures are hard to find, and SMD3 told The Connexion it does not have them.

As a result of the costs, some households started dumping their rubbish in neighbouring Charente’s collective bin system. 

Bin collection costs rise by €80,000

Politicians in Charente have long said they would not change waste collection through the taxe foncière model because they see it as being fairer.

However, François Filippi, managing director of Calitom, the body that collects waste in most of Charente, said: “Mayors of the communes affected by Dordogne dumpers were not at all happy with the situation.

“In the area covered by a commune de communes (CDC) closest to Dordogne, which

has a population of 17,000, the amount of waste in bins went up so much that the CDC had to pay an extra €80,000 a year.”

The area, which covers the towns of Montmoreau and Chalais, became one of the first for Calitom’s new service of door-to-door collection.

“We did not change the system just because of the problem with Dordogne, but by moving to a door-to-door system, we have managed to cut the amount of waste from Dordogne in border areas by a significant amount,” said Mr Filippi.

Reduction in waste

“With the move to door-to-door systems, and the use of clear plastic bags instead of black bags for household waste, we have seen a significant improvement, of the order of 15%, in the amount of waste being sorted properly, especially paper.”

The collective bin system, which was introduced by Calitom in the early 2000s, was credited with cutting CO₂ emissions from rubbish collection by at least 20% by giving collection lorries shorter routes.

It also saved communes money because they were able to extend maintenance periods for communal roads, which used to get potholes from the weekly passing of the lorries.

Mr Filippi insisted that although the longer routes for door-to-door collection would use more fuel, Calitom still profited overall from better sorting of waste.

Calitom has also started issuing badges for its rubbish tips, although it has no intention of limiting the number of times households can use them.

As part of a publicity campaign, it said: “Identification by card will stop the tips being used by people bringing in waste from other departments, as well as bad behaviour by some people towards our agents.”

Read more: Letters: French recycling rules just lead to more waste