Recycling in the French Alps
Before we get stuck looking at what we can recycle in our resorts and what to put in which bin, we should first remember that recycling is not a magic solution to our waste production. Whist, it is clearly one of the best ways to deal with our daily rubbish and waste, there are a couple of things we should try first.
There is a great book by Bea Jonson called Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life by Reducing Your Waste. Catchy title, right?! But she was one of the first pioneers of the idea of living without producing much - or any waste. Plus, yes, she's FRENCH!
She says that an attempt at going zero waste starts with small changes. It’s within anyone’s reach, and change starts at home. For me, she made it really simple to look at what I could do with 5 steps :
Refuse what you do not need
Fight junk mail. It’s not just a waste of resources but also of time. Register to receive less at mpsonline.org.uk
Turn down freebies from conferences, fairs, and parties. Every time you take one, you create a demand to make more. Do you really need another “free” pen?
Reduce what you do need (and cannot refuse)
Declutter your home, and donate to your local thrift shop. You’ll lighten your load and make precious resources available to those looking to buy secondhand.
Reduce your shopping trips and keep a shopping list. The less you bring home, the less waste you’ll have to deal with.
Reuse what you consume (and cannot refuse or reduce)
Swap disposables for reusables (start using handkerchiefs, refillable bottles, shopping totes, cloth napkins, rags, etc.). You might find that you don’t miss your paper towels but rather enjoy the savings.
Avoid grocery shopping waste: Bring reusable totes, cloth bags (for bulk aisles), and jars (for wet items like cheese and deli foods) to the store and farmers market.
Recycle what you cannot refuse, reduce, or reuse.
Know your local community’s recycling policies and locations—but think of recycling as a last resort. Have you refused, reduced, or reused first? Question the need and life-cycle of your purchases. Shopping is voting.
Buy primarily in bulk or secondhand, but if you must buy new, choose glass, metal, or cardboard. Avoid plastic: Much of it gets shipped across the world for recycling and often ends up in the landfill (or worse yet, the ocean).
Rot (compost) the rest.
Find a compost system that works for your home and get to know what it will digest (dryer lint, hair, and nails are all compostable).
Turn your home kitchen trash can into one large compost receptacle. The bigger the compost receptacle, the more likely you’ll be to use it freely.
In this blog post, I want to have a look at the recycling element. Whilst I do agree with Bea that we should use this as a last resort. Right now, on the brink of a new winter ski season, when thousands of temporary staff are heading to the alps for the winter season. Now seems like a great opportunity to get some knowledge out there. So here we go…
The bins… what goes where?!
Before settling in the alps permanently, I was doing winter seasons for over a decade-plus 5 summers in Corsica - and yet I still struggle with the French bin system.
Having then spoken to the team in the Massage Me office, I realised I wasn’t alone, which got me thinking. If we, who have chosen to live here, don’t really understand how to make the most of the system, what chance do staff passing through for maybe just 6 months or less?
After discussing it in the office and saying that “someone” should be educating the seasonnaires in the resorts about waste management, I realised that we / I am “someone”! So here goes…
I am Someone…
In France, the communal bins - poubelles - are dotted around the resort in groups of 3 or 4. Each bin will have a label on it as to what should be put in it. I’m going to try to demystify the labels for you. Hopefully, you can share this information with your friends/colleagues/staff, etc., and together, we can reduce the amount of unnecessary waste in our ski resorts.
Above is an infographic we’ve made up to help show what waste should go in which bin. I should also note that this is made based on the rules in the Savoie. This might vary when you move to other regions and ski areas. As such, always make sure to check in with your local Tourist Information point or Maison des Saisonniers, who should be able to help.
So there you go - get recycling!
Please keep your eyes on our blog pages and more posts on how Jen’s green journey is going. She’ll be looking at those other ideas in some of the next blogs.