Wastes

Waste management is one of the longest existing public services, being offered by the urban Community since it was first established.

Each year the population of the greater metropolitan area (households, producers and retailers) produces more than 400 kg of waste per person.

This waste is sorted and recycled. The Metropolitan Council of Dunkerque pioneered the field with the establishment of the Trisélec centre which has been promoting waste sorting at home since 1989. Ever since, sustainable development has continued to increase and a charter for waste management for “a responsible and exemplary territory” was approved in June 2006 by the elected representatives of the community after an extensive participative procedure which mobilised more than 250 people within the span of one year. The charter defined the main areas of action for the period of 2006-2012: the reduction of waste at its root, waste sorting and collection, communication and organisation.

Waste sorting at home is done with three bins (or two bins and one compost bin). Each household has:

The blue bin: transparent or opaque plastic bottles (for example water, milk, oil), glass containers (bottles, jars), paper and cardboard (newspapers, magazines, prospects, clean cardboard, cartons) and metal containers (cans, canned drinks, spray cans).

The green bin (or compost bin): kitchen waste (bread, coffee grounds, used tea bags, fruit and vegetable peelings, fishbones, bones, egg shells, meal leftovers), other organic waste (paper, newspaper, dirty or greasy cardboard, tissue or paper towels) and small garden waste (cut or faded flowers, small branches, grass cutting). Do not throw any plastic in this bin!

The brown bin: any household waste which does not go into the blue or green bins

The Metropolitan Council also manages four waste collection sites in Gravelines, Petite-Synthe, Rosendaël and Bray-Dunes for bulky items, special waste, large garden waste and other items