Do you want to take action on a daily basis to reduce your impact on the planet? Do you want to recycle your bio-waste? Don’t hesitate, use a compost bin! Whether you are in a house or an apartment, there is a composting solution for every situation

Composting consists in transforming organic materials: peelings, eggshells, coffee grounds, paper filters, bread, grass clippings, leaves, wilted flowers, weeds into compost. The goal is to use your household waste to make a natural fertilizer. Thanks to this practice, you reuse your waste, you save on the purchase of fertilizer and you don’t pollute anymore! In addition, your plants and trees benefit from a very nutritious element, promoting their development and your soil gains in quality.

House or apartment: to each his type of composting

Whether you are in a house or an apartment, there are several types of composting.

When you have a large garden area, you can compost in heaps. This composting consists in grouping your waste in heaps on the ground, this allows you to manage larger volumes. It is enough to create a heap on the ground and to superimpose successive layers. Pile composting has the advantage of being easy to handle, without volume constraints and requires less maintenance.

If your garden is smaller, use composting in a bin. This is the most commonly used type of composter. It has the advantage of being compact and very discreet. To get it, it is possible to get it from your local community or to buy it in kit form in a store.

Even when you don’t have a garden, composting is possible!

More and more local authorities offer shared composting, also called collective composting. This consists of placing composters at the foot of certain buildings to manage large volumes. Each inhabitant of the building can thus deposit his bio-waste in the composter. Collective composting between neighbors or at work promotes social cohesion. It helps to raise citizens’ awareness of waste sorting and the fight against food waste.

You don’t have a shared compost bin near your home? Do some worm composting! Vermicomposting is the process of transforming organic waste into compost using Eisenia type earthworms. The earthworms integrate the organic waste and then excrete dark, odourless and fertile manure, as well as mud granules rich in organic matter. This type of composting requires little material and little space. It can therefore be set up on a balcony or even in the kitchen.

In Lille, become an inhabitant composter!

On December 2, 2016, the European metropolis of Lille unanimously adopted its Local Program for the Prevention of Household Waste. The objective of this program is to reduce the overall production of household waste by 10% by the end of 2021.

As part of its actions, and in order to reduce the quantity of bio-waste (food waste and garden waste) collected in household waste, the MEL wishes to support the development of composting in all forms: individual and collective. In order to encourage the active participation of individuals from volunteer municipalities, MEL is launching a call for applications for the provision of composting equipment and its accompaniment. The objective is to propose a solution to avoid throwing bio-waste in the Residual Household Waste by valorizing it in compost.

This year, 400 individual composters were distributed to households that applied to become “composting residents”.

Lille has also launched in 2015 an operation called “Prêt d’poules” (Loan of hens), which consists in welcoming in your home 2 hens lent by the Animavia association for a period of 6 months. At the end of the loan period, it is possible to keep them. A new way to reduce waste while having eggs at home every day.

Roubaix the model city

The city of Roubaix launched the zero waste family challenge 5 years ago. Roubaix offers practical workshops led by volunteers (making a bread bag, using cloth diapers, managing a composter, making cleaning products), festive times and conferences all free of charge for families wishing to reduce their household waste. These different tools allow families to build their own itinerary according to their desires and possibilities. The objective: to reduce household waste by 50%.

Results of the challenge in 2018 (sources roubaixzérodéchet.fr)

The city of Roubaix has also installed a collective recycling system called Biobox in some places. Residents can put their bio-waste in bags designed for composting and then deposit their bags in a biobox. This is an excellent way to reduce the volume of their waste by at least a third and to be able to recover fertilizer for free !