France/ Yvelines: France's largest urban community changes waste collection rules
In Yvelines, within the territory of Grand Paris Seine & Oise, waste collections obey new rules from this October 1, 2024. Here's what you need to know.
In the Yvelines region, residents of the Grand Paris Seine & Oise (GPS&O) urban community now have to adopt new reflexes when it comes to taking out their garbage cans. As of October1, 2024, waste collection procedures have changed, following theharmonization of household waste collection tax (TEOM)rates almost a year ago.
Four rates for as many levels of service. That, in a nutshell, is the policy now in force within GPS&O. By subscribing to this regulatory obligation on a territory-wide scale, the urban community aims to "optimize collection resources, harmonize the services offered and reduce the cost of waste collection".harmonization of the service offered to residents, and better control of expenditure in a context of constantly rising collection costs".
A la carte services
According to GPS&O, these costs have risen by 6% in two years. The reform is expected toincrease the revenue collected by by €9.2 million, thereby boosting the waste management budget, which will still be in deficit by €8 million in 2023.
This phase of practical implementation reveals the winners and losers in the bitter negotiations conducted by the 73 mayors concerned. Each of them had until the end of 2023 to choose the level of service their constituents would benefit from, and therefore the associated TEOM rate.
A more expensive tax in ex-Camy communes
The communes formerly belonging to the Communauté d'Agglomération de Mantes-en-Yvelines (Camy) have all seen their TEOM rates increase.
"At national level, TEOM is 9% on average.
Isabelle Martin, first deputy mayor of Épône
Winners and losers
The urban community had to comply with the regulations this year, which was going to result in an increase anyway," continues theÉpône mayor, who opted for level 4, the most comprehensive of those proposed. Residents wouldn't have understood that the price was going up while the service was deteriorating."
Limay, Issou and Guitrancourt are just a few of the communes to have got off lightly, since their TEOM has fallen. In Issou, for example, it stands at 7.52% for a service equivalent to that already provided to residents, almost three points less than before the reform. The municipality is delighted with this situation, which is also the envy of many neighboring towns.
Concessions elsewhere
Most towns and cities have had to make concessions in terms of the services they offer their residents, notably for the treatment of glass, bulky items and plant waste.
In June 2023, Yann Perron, mayor of Gargenville, was already trying to convince his constituents at a public meeting that the use ofvoluntary drop-off points and the twelve urban community waste collection centers was the most economically viable solution.
"Landfilling and incineration will be taxed more heavily by the State in the future.
Yann Perron, Mayor of Gargenville
The mayor acknowledged, however, that the town's existing waste collection center would require costly expansion work that would be difficult to integrate into an already ailing community budget.
In Porcheville, we feel short-changed
It's the spacing of green waste collections that's causing a stir in Porcheville. At the last town council meeting, opposition councillor Bruno Morosinotto-Hamot expressed surprise "that green waste is only collected every fortnight, rather than every week".
The commune has opted for level 3, like most municipalities. "With inflation, that's an increase of 94% all the same," added Bruno Morosinotto-Hamot. "The increase was foreseen, but not the reduction in the number of passages," admitted mayor Alec Jaltier, assuring us that he had "been duped".
The same was true of Épône. It's true that it's a subtlety that we had somewhat overlooked," admits Isabelle Martin. It's a question of cost. GPS&O is also pursuing the objective of reducing the volume of waste collected.
Source: actu.fr/ile-de-france
