Batteries, ampoules, yoghurt pots, plastic bags, medicines, an old chest of drawers handed over by our mother … our interiors house a heap of objects that we dare not throw away (that's good) because we are doubt that the classic channel does not suit them, but we do not know what to do in the end. We give you all the solutions to throw away useful for you, for others, and for the planet.
Article written in partnership with the Ministry of Ecological Transition (MTE)
Batteries
Besides the little jar full of eight batteries that has been lying there for three years, did you know that there are probably a hundred batteries lurking in your house? Toys, cameras, old telephones, watches, epilator, cordless drill, etc., most of these items probably contain used batteries or batteries that are waiting to be dropped off at a collection point to be recycled (as a reminder: to increase the battery life, use the appropriate charger, frequently recharge before 0% and keep it away from heat sources). After being deposited in a store or in a recycling center in a suitable container, the cells and batteries are collected then sorted and recycled in order to recover the metals they contain to give them a second life.
Concretely ? Track down, store and take your loot to one of the 60,000 Batribox or Corepile collection points, which you can find everywhere from the supermarket to the school.
The clothes
… But also sheets, hats, scarves, shoes (too small for children, which clutter up closets by the thousands), towels, tablecloths, what do we do with them? We can rotate them (to girlfriends, during one-off collections organized, or give them to association branches). They can also be repaired or put in the containers that you see on every street corner in car parks or in recycling centers. Some of them will be resold in thrift stores. As for those which are too damaged, they will be transformed into new raw materials, energy, or recycled. Some will be transformed into insulation, synthetic foams for sofas or even artificial snow for trees.
Concretely ? We donate, we repair, we recycle in rags or we put in the containers at the bottom of the house.
The phones
Did you know that between 50 and 100 million old phones are sleeping in our drawers right now, yet almost two-thirds are still working? Whether they remind us of a time in our life, whether we are too lazy to empty them of their photos or we do not know at all what to do with them, we often store our old smartphones in a corner. because it reassures us. Which is silly. Because we will never turn them on again, we know that (plus we lost the charger) and that we could, by throwing it in the right place, help protect the environment. Rehabilitated (and emptied of their personal data), they will be able to help destitute people. Recycled, they will make it possible to reuse certain raw materials, thus reducing the CO2 emissions generated when they are transported from distant countries.
Concretely ? It's very simple ! We go directly to the longuevieauxobjets.gouv.fr site. There, we select the object we want to give or resell (his phone but it can also be his bike, his guitar, the children's toys, his pair of shoes, his household appliances …), we geolocate and presto, we locate the closest association or commercial enterprise that will take over our object, extend its lifespan and provide good service to others. You can also go through one of the many digital platforms for connecting individuals also referenced on the site! By the way, we will be able to discover all the alternatives to avoid systematically buying and redeeming new or even diagnosing the failure of your washing machine in a few clicks and repairing it at a lower cost! A nice gesture for the wallet and the planet!
Medication
No, we don't keep Augustus' treatment and give it to Oscar because it had "worked well" on him. Medicines for adults are separated from those for children. Obsolete drugs are also separated from those still in use. Medication is stored wisely in a locked cabinet and high up. But suddenly, what do we do with syrups, ampoules, creams and other supposedly outdated or unused? Before bringing them back to the pharmacy, the drugs are separated from the parapharmacy products. The old instructions and packaging of medicines are to be sorted in the sorting bin, medicines (tablets, syrup, ointments, spray, etc.) are, for their part, to be brought back to the pharmacy.
Concretely ? We put the cardboard packaging and paper instructions in the recycling bin and we rtake any unused medication to our pharmacist. They will be used as energy to light and heat homes.
The lightbulbs
Hop, we can't see anything in your living room. Spent two hours trying to figure out which one to choose in the hardware department, you have a new bulb … and a used one, then. Did you think we were going to tackle the subject of recycling directly? Not immediately. Because if your old bulb is “incandescent” (either: the old ones with internal wire or the new ones with bobos filaments), it will go in the traditional household garbage bin. If, on the other hand, it is a compact fluorescent bulb, a “neon” tube or an LED, you will make them take the virtuous path of recycling (knowing that 90% of the neon tube will be recycled, it's worth it. stroke).
Concretely ? You deposit your bulb in the store, in the collector provided for this purpose, or you go to the recycling center to throw it in the right place. Good to know: many stores are re-purchasing. A good way not to forget.
Our old mattress …
… or our wardrobe, our teenage nightstand or the horrible "club" armchair of our other half that has been squatting the living room for years, how do we get rid of it? Paradoxically, these large objects that we would like to eject immediately scare us, because we do not know what to do with them. However, circular economy requires, they can be sold in garage sales, online or given (to a nephew, to strangers via associations such as Emmaüs, a Ressourcerie or a Recyclerie) who will repair them and "repimper" them to make them. attractive again (well, maybe not the “club” chair). If you've just made a new purchase, you look carefully at store take-back offers, which can also be a great solution. Finally, if you're a Marie Kondo fan and want to throw them away really quickly, you do it in the right place.
Concretely ? We go to the recycling center towards the Eco-furniture dumpster (or the Bulky goods service which, in some municipalities, will even come directly to us). Dismantled, sorted by materials, recycled (our mattress may even end up in tatami mat) or transformed into a source of energy, our old furniture will be much more useful than in the attic.
Plastic packaging
"No, there's some sauce left, you can't put it there! ", we often shout at you when you wisely throw your soiled prepared dish packaging in the yellow bin. Yet it is you who are right. Even soiled, they are now recycled. And we don't run them under water to "clean", it wastes unnecessarily. Cardboard boxes, bottles, various packaging, on the other hand, one rule is essential: we peel, we fold, we crush, we present as neatly as possible so that the sorting machine can easily identify who is what.
Concretely ? We throw in the recycling bin (and as a reminder, we do not throw the plastic garbage bag in the recycling bin, we deposit in bulk). If you have any doubts, consult the sorting instructions for your city, available online.
The anti-waste law for a circular economy provides for the extension of sorting instructions to all French people: all households will be able to place their plastic packaging in sorting bins in 2022. By then, more than 30 million French people can already do it. For others, living in municipalities that have not yet extended sorting instructions to all plastic packaging, they can place plastic bottles and flasks in the sorting bin.
Ink cartridges
Teleworking requires, many of us have equipped themselves with a home printer, and have observed the starving life of our ink cartridges (which also cost an arm but this is another problem ). The only good news in this story is that, properly routed, they can be put back into working order or used for energy.
Concretely ? We find the right recycling bin, which we are sure to find at the cartridge dealer (where we must inevitably go anyway, so we have no excuse).
For further
Find all these sorting tips, but also advice on reducing your waste and reusing your items on the lesbonneshabitudes.gouv.fr website