In force, Bordeaux Confidentiel came to visit the Astria sorting centre in Bègles. "In force": yes! We came as a demanding group of committed eco-responsibles to visit this incredible centre.
A full experience, and you cannot imagine how difficult and technical sorting really is. In numbers, the Bègles sorting centre processes nearly 300,000 tons of waste each year, and YES YOU PLAY A PART! TIN CANS GO IN THE GREEN BIN!
The centre has been running since 1997 and also has, since 1998, an energy recovery unit (meaning the centre has an incinerator that produces energy from waste).
The plant combines a full automatic sorting setup with manual sorting operations. The staff is precise and knows their missions perfectly. Waste is sorted by "type"... cardboard, plastic, metals... During one visit, you realise how our sorting habits are sometimes wrong. For example, crushing cans or bottles before dropping them in the bin means they end up in the wrong category, since the automatic sorting machine (ballistic separator) has almost no effect on a crushed object.
Yes, we still have a long way to go.
Honestly, we were impressed by the well-oiled recycling machine. Big thanks to Astria for the lessons and the tour, and major respect to the teams working in these sorting centres.
And you, where are you on your household sorting?
