29/05/2026
In Bordeaux Métropole, an estimated 174,000 tonnes of food waste are sent for incineration every year – that’s one third of all waste in the residual stream 😱
In an effort to avoid this massive loss of resources, the Metropole has been working to divert food waste away from disposal in recent years. In 2025, they established 100 community composting sites in the outer ring, and plan to build a further 300 by the end of 2026!
However, anyone working in a municipality will know that the money side of things has to work as well. And so, the Metropole, with the help of Lumec, decided to test the economics of the status quo of burning food waste against the alternative with 400 decentralised composting sites.
The results? 🤑
Over a 5-year period, the diversion alternative results in a net economic benefit of 193,595 €, yielding significant savings compared to 2.4M € in costs under the status quo. And even in a scenario with a lower participation rate, the costs under the diversion alternative are still lower than under the current disposal model.
Read the full cost-benefit analysis here: https://zerowasteeurope.eu/library/cost-benefit-analysis-community-composting-bordeaux/
Zero Waste France Zero Waste Bordeaux
