What a load of Rubbish.

[Nomoss]

Our small town/large village (pop. 2,000) has smallish communal plastic bacs, deployed in pairs, with green lids for household waste and yellow for recyclables.
We pay €346 per year for ordures ménagères, which I am told, also includes the cost of recycling.
I don't know what could be the alternative, but wouldn't be sorry to see them removed, as when the lids are left open or have disappeared in the wind, the light rubbish blows down the street and into our garden.
At least they are washed out fairly regularly, so we don't notice any smells.

Not like a couple of days ago when I was in my office at the back of the house, and gradually became aware of an awful smell.
I went to the kitchen, which is directly on the main road, where my wife told me that a vehicle had just been stopped outside, sucking out the contents of the sewer via a large manhole.
Their machine was so powerful that it had sucked out the water from all the u-bends (siphons) in the toilets and bathrooms, so that sewer gases were coming directly into the house.
After running all the taps, flushing the toilets, and filling the u-bend for the washing machine, It took well over an hour to disperse the smell with all the extractor fans running and a couple of windows slightly open (it was too cold outside to open many windows)
I'm just glad we were in the house at the time, it would have been a great homecoming if we had returned after several hours of the drains being directly open to the inside of the house.

[Hotrodder]

[rabbit]

Our commune installed chip and bin. It lasted 3 years and cost us tax payers hundreds of thousands and was a complete disaster. The towns had to remove waste bins as people would dump their home waste in them. Rubbish would pile up by the sides of locked communal bins. Fly tipping mushroomed. There are private enterprises making a lot of money by selling these schemes to Mairies .

[Bayleaf]

Let's see how long it lasts here then!

This morning will be the last collection of black bins here. I put a half-filled bag out last night - without being in our substantial wheelie bin, as they're not having that! It was an odd moment chucking that last bin out - almost felt it should be noted with a candle-lit vigil!

Mr B emptied the recycling into the new "grilled opening" bins yesterday on his way to shopping, and nearly went into meltdown over it - no more tipping the bin into it and keeping the bag, pretty much everything goes in individually. Less than a week since those bins were installed (no bins at all there before), and someone has already left a broken plastic bowl by the side because they hoped to get it into the recycling bin. I wonder how long that'll be there, and how long before it's joined by other items.... We wash out anything that needs it, to go into recycling, a quick rinse under the cold tap usually does it, but then we have a tap that is spring fed, so is free. I can't imagine everyone will want to do that and waste water they pay for.

I guess we can deposit black bags free at the moment, as we haven't received the special card yet? Although we're trying even harder to have either recyclable or "compostible" rubbish only, so hopefully eliminate regular use of black bags - one a month would be good, and they're going to smell lovely in the summer.

[Blaze]

Unfortunately there is still far too much over-packaging and plastics that aren't supposed to go into our recycling bin. I've always rinsed things out but have been told in 2 different recycling places not to bother. Our rubbish collection is included in the tax d'habitation (I haven't a clue how much it is) but it works well in our hamlet. The only rubbish we see is if there are gales and someone's bin blows over ....

[Bayleaf]

Unfortunately there is still far too much over-packaging and plastics that aren't supposed to go into our recycling bin. I've always rinsed things out but have been told in 2 different recycling places not to bother. Our rubbish collection is included in the tax d'habitation (I haven't a clue how much it is) but it works well in our hamlet. The only rubbish we see is if there are gales and someone's bin blows over ....

The onus is on the manufacturers to help reduce the packaging problem. We only rinse things out to stop them smelling - so for our own benefit, as the bag stays in the washroom until it's full. Our recycling collection stopped when Covid lockdown started. I guess the Dordogne is the latest guineapig in this new rubbish scheme.

[niemeyjt]

Some people have been known to remove excess packaging and leave it at the supermarket for them to dispose of.

But what is "excess" - sometimes it is to protect during transportation.

Someone needs a tetrapac moment.

[exile]

Someone needs a tetrapac moment.

I often wonder about the miracle recyclable Tetrapac.

Yes its main body is paper but it is wax treated which must make recycling more difficult.
Then it has a polyethylene liner which again must make recycling more of a challenge.
Then there is a metal (Aluminium?) foil layer, which again is another separation task.

Don't misunderstand, I think it is a very good and inventive package but is it all it's cracked up to be?

[niemeyjt]

I meant as an innovative solution no-one else had thought of - rather than a rehash of the tetrapac design for the supermarket - though it might work.

Personally, I like the idea of incineration as part of a combined heat and power solution - with high temperatures and effective filters it need not be polluting - and it does away with much landfill.

And whilst on my supermarket hobby horse - I also want to see more "class 2" produce sold - it may be cosmetically challenged, but tastes as good - we need a new mindset.

[Sparkle]

@niemeyjt most of the produce in our local supermarket I would rate as "class 2" not because it may be ummmm disfigured but because most of the 'fresh' fruit & veg has either been stored at too cold a temperature or for too long at too cold a temperature. Potatoes last no longer than a few days before they've gone soft and swiffy & the same with cucumber. The sprouts, carrots, soft fruits, tomatoes etc that are in plastic bags or boxes (can't buy much of our veg loose) are so wet from condensation that when I get them home they have to be wiped dry. This week I bought 2 bio avocados in a cardboard box with a paper wrapper holding the box together at 3 euros thinking they'll be nice. I opened the box when I got home and one avocado had a thick fur coat - from now on I shall be doing it the french way and opening the boxes to check before I buy!........rant over..