Incentive pricing for household waste: the Lotto is evaluating this solution to limit waste

Incentive price for household waste, will it soon arrive in the Lotto? Not exactly. But many communities of municipalities are seriously considering it. So what exactly are we talking about?

“We already have to remember what the user sees: he uses a collection service managed by a union or a community of municipalities. He has to travel to deposit his waste in the bins. He can also use the 27 collection centers managed by Syded, without Paga a uniform tax for all”, deciphers Stéphane Magot, president of Syded du Lot.

The polluter pays principle

Incentive prices use the “polluter pays” principle. “The user will pay according to the waste he produces. This is what we know about water or electricity. He will not pay less than usual, but less than his neighbor who does not sort and who does not have compost,” indicates Muriel Descamp, general manager of Syded services. The goal is therefore there: to encourage people to reduce waste production by changing consumption patterns, using containers for separate collection and producing compost. We remind you that by 2024 everyone will have to have a composter. According to Syded, this price would reduce the amount of household waste by 40%.

On a practical level, how could this be implemented? “We need to individualize the service. The one that is more suitable for rural areas: a system based on underground or semi-underground containers. They are equipped with locks. You have to come with a small card and a badge to open the drum. This has a contribution on ‘user account’, describes Muriel Descamp. It is quite a complex tool to set up. The decision does not rest with Syded but with the unions and communities of municipalities that have jurisdiction over household waste. Incentive pricing could allow them to reduce the cost of waste treatment.

The example of Grand Figeac

Take the example of Grand Figeac. The treatment of domestic waste is an important topic at the center of a large debate. By 2025, the community will have to face a substantial increase of 1.5 million euros to support the growing costs associated in particular with landfilling of waste and legislative changes on the matter. This increase in household waste treatment costs leads to an inevitable increase in the TEOM (household waste collection tax) which explodes from 3.642 million euros in 2021 to over 6 million euros (instead of 5 million) in 2025.

During the last community council, President Vincent Labarthe invited the managers of Syded du Lot to take stock of the actions carried out and the prospects being studied in the area. The stakes are high: in fact, it would be necessary to reduce the waste collected by more than 1,000 tons each year (out of 8,500 tons of waste, excluding recyclables) to avoid increasing the TEOM. This would require going from the 188 kg per capita produced today to 106 kg per capita. Note that on average, the TEOM represents €237 per year and per household. A real challenge that could lead Grand Figeac to one day adopt incentive prices.

“It is not the priority, the challenge today is to reduce the amount of waste so before the incentive pricing we will move to a more grouped system”, specifies Pascal Lewicki, vice president of Grand Figeac in charge of the case. The strategy is above all to “rationalise the collection rounds in Grand Figeac” by reducing the very numerous collection points now sent to the 92 municipalities that make up the community. “This work is ongoing and should make it possible to group the containers that will be replaced by aerial or semi-buried columns and to change the trucks to facilitate the work of the agents,” explains Pascal Lewicki. The community is also betting on a new communication campaign aimed at residents, encouraging them to select even more and immediately convert to composting. A green brigade could see the light of day.