In Lunel, the Sainte-Thérèse school starts sorting food waste

Les élèves sont aidés par le personnel de cantine pour effectuer le tri. Lucie Guillot

A new recycling system has been set up in the school by the company Les Alchimistes. In order to preserve the planet, waste will be transformed into compost.

“That’s new!” remarks one of the young students at the Sainte-Thérèse school. And this “that” is the new food waste sorting system at the Lunel school. Since Tuesday, January 14, all students at Sainte-Thérèse (nursery, primary and secondary) will be able to better recycle the contents of their plates by separating food waste from other waste.

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Awareness Raised by and for students

At the end of each meal, children will isolate leftover food, helped by the canteen staff. They will then be stored in brown bins provided by Les Alchimistes Languedoc (see below). Every Thursday, the staff of this company, which is behind this system, will come and collect the waste to transform it into compost. “We want to teach students to sort properly and we hope to significantly reduce our waste”, assures the college director, Philippe Taxi.

A structure already involved in the Agglo

Les Alchimistes is a national network of entrepreneurs aiming to take care of soils by using food waste and compost. Les Alchimistes Languedoc, which has existed for three years, is already present in three other establishments in the territory: the Louis Feuillade high school and the hospital in Lunel and the La Jolivade retirement home in Lunel-Viel. Their objective is to collect food waste from schools, restaurants and health establishments to make compost by processing them in an Amétyst plant in the Montpellier Metropolis. The compost is then distributed to farmers (mainly winegrowers) and green space services in order to nourish the soil. For more information: https://les.alchimistes.co/

The president of Alchimistes Languedoc, Chloé Torrente, and Natacha Graboy-Grobesco, a work-study student, were present this Tuesday, January 14, to explain to young people how to sort properly. “It was important that they knew why they were being asked to do this, what compost is and how it helps nourish the soil“, explains the president.

Eco-delegates

Students will also be able to learn about preserving the planet thanks to the school's eco-delegates. These real mini-ambassadors of the project, who were elected by their classmates, have the mission of raising awareness by participating, for example, in the creation of posters on sorting or food waste. “Ecology is very present in my life. And in the face of all the climate changes, we must think of future generations”, concludes Olivia Devert, 3rd year eco-delegate, to explain her commitment.