“We had to invest in sorting bins of different colors in order to be able to store our recyclables, which were previously in shopping bags, for longer,” explains Marie, 35 years old. With her husband and their two teenagers, it is difficult to wait 15 days between each collection of household waste by her community. The hospital service agent therefore purchased three 25-liter trash cans, at 24.99 euros each, “depending on the space in our kitchen.” From now on, a whole section of wall is occupied by these three blue, yellow and green trash cans.
Like Marie, the French are equipping themselves with more and more trash cans. 5 years ago, they held an average of 3.8, compared to 4.5 today, according to a Brabantia study published last September. To avoid the clutter of these bins, companies have adapted to create “stackable” models, as Bruno Lecointre, market director at Castorama, mentions: “With the same space, we are looking for something a little more restricted, so we developed bins that stack up.” As a result, individuals have several bins to carry out their selective sorting, without invading their kitchen with waste. The French are thus “76% to declare that they sort their waste regularly and 96% from time to time”, according to Pierre Bomme, marketing manager of the company specializing in the art of living.
If selective sorting has already transformed the trash market, it is now the turn of biowaste to join the game. Since January 1, every household has been required to sort their food waste so that it can be composted and recycled by municipalities to fertilize the soil or be transformed into gas (methane). This measure is part of the AGEC anti-waste law of February 10, 2020 and concerns fruit and vegetable peelings, coffee grounds, biodegradable filters and capsules, egg shells, leftover meals, expired products not consumed or even green waste. In total, this bio-waste represents 30% of unsorted waste each year. To comply with this new law, players in the sector have redesigned their bin offerings to also offer composters.
It is a growing market, with “34% of French people now systematically composting their waste, compared to 22% in 2017,” notes Pierre Bomme. Brabantia therefore launched one of its flagship models five years ago: the “Sort and Go” “linked to sorting and compost”. With its Scandinavian design and a price starting from 18.75 euros for 3 liters, this model is available at many retailers such as Galeries Lafayette, BHV or DIY stores. “There was an increase in sales post-Covid and especially during Covid,” specifies the marketing manager. In addition to this low-cost trash can, the brand has also developed a “Bo” model, on feet, from 40 euros for 4 liters. “We wanted to transform the image of the trash can which becomes a piece of furniture,” insists Pierre Bomme, “because more than 50% of French people think that the trash can can be a decorative object.”
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An observation shared by Cécile Biron, product manager at Nature et discoveries: “The trash can becomes a decorative element in its own right, which we hope to also see for composters.” “For the past year, our entire composting offering has seen very strong growth, at 60%, particularly since the last quarter of 2023 and the start of the school year,” she says. The group’s range oscillates between 24.95 euros and 359 euros. “The cautious tend towards low prices, the convinced do not hesitate to put a hundred euros in a composter and the most convinced put the price according to their priorities,” underlines Cécile Biron. But if these solutions are particularly widespread in the countryside, “urban customers are a little less aware and have difficulty planning,” observes the product manager.
Marie, who lives in the Meuse, admits that it is difficult for her “to sort food waste in an apartment”. Due to lack of space, the family “is forced to continue to throw their waste into the main bin while waiting for the municipality to find a solution and do what is necessary”. If some municipalities are lagging behind, others have anticipated the new measure of the AGEC law for several years. In Orléans, the city has offered free composters for 20 years, to place in your garden. For those who live in apartments, other cities have set up subsidies to equip themselves collectively or individually. The agglomeration of Lorient, for example, offers aid of 20 euros, while the metropolis of Amiens reimburses its residents “up to 30 euros per household”.
These subsidies allow you to equip yourself with a classic composter or a worm composter, which can be placed at home. Behind this term lies “a technique used in agriculture and adapted to individuals”, recalls Vincent Ducasse, co-manager of Terrestris. Concretely, worms digest your bio-waste in a closed box and their droppings “help sanitize the material” and create a fertilizer. “They produce both a solid compost and a liquid fertilizer, very powerful and very rich in nutrifoods,” analyzes Felicia Gruner, co-founder of Natuco. The two specialists agree on the same point: “Unlike traditional composting, vermicomposting does not release odors or midges.”
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A virtuous solution that is attracting more and more French people. “We have increased requests for individuals but also from communities to equip them,” says Vincent Ducasse. Felicia Gruner also observes “a doubling” of her sales “since the end of last year”. However, these worm composters produced and designed in France have a price: from 115 euros at Terrestris and 324 euros for Natuco. To reduce the bill, Vincent Ducasse recommends opting for collective worm composters, when all residents of the same building agree: “worm composting at the foot of the building costs around 10 times less per tonne of reprocessed waste than apartment solutions.”
If you still need time to agree to introduce worms into your home, the State has chosen to continue its “support” and does not yet intend to “sanction communities in the short term”. For individuals, “as with other waste, they will remain subject to the rules laid down by their community,” specifies the Ministry of Ecology. It is therefore better to regularly check the rules put in place by your municipalities in order to avoid future sanctions. Once applied, the fines will amount to 35 euros if you pay within 45 days and can increase up to 150 euros in the event of non-payment. Enough to gently slide towards more virtuous solutions for the environment, but perhaps not for your wallet.
