Household refuse

Verified 01 January 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

What to do with your household waste (food waste, packaging, bottles...)? We are taking stock of the regulations.

The waste daily products must be sorted and collected according to the conditions defined by a decree. This decree is issued by the mayor or the president of the group of municipalities. Penalties are provided for non-compliance.

Warning  

hazardous waste (batteries, solvents, syringes, etc.) are subject to specific regulations and must not be mixed with conventional household waste. The same is true for electrical appliances, the garments and cumbersome.

Household trash is waste that households produce daily and that are thrown in the trash (for example: food waste, paper and packaging, plants, bottles, etc.).

Some household waste may be recycled. That is why it is necessary to separate your household waste and throw away those that are recyclable.

Please note

Clothing can be deposited at a collection point (equipped shops, containers on the public road, dedicated space in waste disposal or association) with those in poor condition. They must be placed clean and dry in a closed bag. When they are soiled with chemicals, they should be disposed of in the household waste bin.

Recyclable waste

These include the following categories of waste:

  • Papers (for example, magazine or flyer, notebook with spirals, book, sheet with clip or paper clip, envelope with window). It is possible to ask not to receive any more flyer in his mailbox.
  • Paper or paperboard packaging (e.g. cereal box, pizza box - same salies-, milk brick, gift paper with scotch)
  • Steel and Aluminum Packaging (e.g. can, can, aerosol can, aluminum tray, metal lid)
  • Plastic packaging (for example, water or oil bottle, bottle of washing up liquid or shampoo, food-grade plastic film)
  • Glass packaging (e.g. bottle of orange juice, jar of jam)
  • Bio-waste (e.g. meal leftovers, expired products, peels, dead leaves, lawn mowing, twigs)

Non-recyclable waste

These include products used and disposable (e.g. paper towels, cotton, diapers, etc.).

It is possible to use an online service to know the sorting rules according to the nature of its waste:

How to sort your waste and where to deposit it?

Information is also available in the sorting guide for inhabitants that the town council or the group of municipalities broadcasts on its website or in paper format.

The guide shall contain at least the following information:

  • Methods of collection of the different categories of waste
  • Rules for the allocation and use of containers for collection, including door-to-door collection
  • Methods of collecting residual household waste
  • Separate collection modes
  • Methods of supplying waste for waste disposal
  • Conditions and limits for the acceptance of waste assimilated by the public waste management service, specifying in particular the types of waste which are not accepted
  • Financing mechanism for the public waste management service
  • Penalties for non-compliance

For further information, it is recommended to contact the City Hall.

Who shall I contact

It is useful to check the symbols on purchased products.

These symbols provide information on how the product should be disposed of.

The town hall or the group of municipalities provides private individuals with containers (yellow, black, green, or sometimes other colors) for sorting household waste.

Dsince the 1er january 2024, private individuals (single-family homes, group homes) must sort the bio-waste at source (i.e. they must do it themselves, directly).

This sorting consists in separating bio-waste from residual household waste for enhance in biogas or compost.

It is the town hall or the group of municipalities which is responsible for providing individuals with separate collection.

This can include the deployment of proximity management of bio-waste, by developing the following measures:

  • Seals
  • Individual or shared composters (e.g. neighborhood composters)
  • Separate collection of bio-waste from additional collection
  • Collection in voluntary points of supply

The management of household waste (including bio-waste) is entrusted to the city council or the community of municipalities.

The methods of collection (days and times, bins or containers to be used...) are fixed by decree.

As regards non-recyclable waste, the municipality or group of municipalities may set up a voluntary collection system in a waste disposal center.

If this is not provided for, the municipality or the group of municipalities must comply with certain obligations which differ according to the number of inhabitants.

More than 2,000 inhabitants

Non-recyclable waste must be collected door-to-door at least once a week.

FYI  

the municipality or group of municipalities is not subject to this frequency requirement if the bio-waste are collected separately.

Less than 2,000 inhabitants

Non-recyclable waste should be collected door-to-door at least once every 2 weeks.

FYI  

Municipalities or groups of municipalities shall not be subject to this frequency requirement if bio-waste are collected separately.

The act of depositing its waste in containers, trash bins, dumpsters, locations without respecting the correct containers, days and times of collection, sorting order is punishable by a flat-rate fine.

If you pay immediately or within 45 days of the finding of infringement (or sending the notice of infringement), the fine is €35.

If you pay after this 45-day period, the fine is €75.

If you do not pay the lump sum penalty or if you contest it, the police court is seized.

In particular, it may decide to impose a fine of €150 maximum.

Please note

if you leave a container or a garbage bin on the street permanently, you risk a fine of €750 maximum.

FAQ