turning food waste into compost

Transforming food waste into compost in an ultra-local way: this is the challenge of the Alchimistes, an associative network of entrepreneurs, present in eight regions in France. Twice a week, Paul Chevallier, one of the employees of the network, comes to collect food waste from around fifteen Toulouse restaurants. The waste is then cheated to 70 ° C then mixed with small pieces of wood. In a few weeks, you get compost that is as nutritious as potting soil. “This material can then be directly used in planters, vegetable gardens and on farmland.“, Explain Alice Pesso, general manager Les Alchimistes in Toulouse (Haute-Garonne).

Present in eight French regions, the Les Alchimistes network is growing. In the suburbs of Lyon (Rhône), where 2,000 tonnes of waste can be treated each year, the site is already almost at full capacity. The initiative remains a drop in the bucket compared to the 10 million tonnes of food waste per year in France. In the 7th arrondissement of Lyon, a new Alchemists collection point has been opened, to encourage residents to drop off their food waste. A small gesture that could change things.