Published
Update
Video length: 2 min
Bouches-du-Rhône: another 13,000 tonnes of waste in the burned Saint-Chamas landfill
For years, industrial waste has accumulated illegally in the Saint-Chamas landfill, in Bouches-du-Rhône. The state removed 1,200 tons of waste last December to secure the site, but nearly 13,000 tons remain. – (France 2)
For years, industrial waste has accumulated illegally in the Saint-Chamas landfill, in Bouches-du-Rhône. The state removed 1,200 tons of waste last December to secure the site, but nearly 13,000 tons remain.
The mountains of waste are still there, at the entrance to Saint-Chamas (Bouches-du-Rhône). Nearly 13,000 tonnes of plastic, wood and scrap metal are piled up in the open on private land. A situation that has almost frozen for two years, which exasperates the residents. In 2021, the entrepreneur who rented the land had stored waste illegally. After formal notice from the prefecture, a fire ravaged the warehouse for more than a month.
The State evacuated 1,200 tonnes of waste
Arrests were made and legal action is underway against the operator, but the waste remained. In recent weeks, state services have removed 1,200 tons of this waste, only those that posed an immediate risk to the environment. This is 8% of the overall volume.
Evacuating the remaining 13,000 tonnes would cost 3 million euros, an impossible expense for the mayor (DVD) of the town, Didier Khelfa. “It should be this company that pays, except that we know that they probably organized their insolvency, and that I cannot wait so many years“, he said. Another option is being studied: the repurchase of the land by the Aix-Marseille metropolis, which would make it possible to obtain state aid.
