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Increased numbers of residents in France will soon be required to take their rubbish to communal waste collection points, as more local authorities confirm they are stopping at-home waste

collection services.

The latest area to confirm the change is Haut-Limousin en Marche, in the Limousin region, in a change that will affect some 22,000 people, reports France 3. 

From September 1, 2025, residents in the area will need to take their waste bags to a local collection point (PAV, points d’apport volontaire), rather than having them collected from outside

their home. Houses will no longer have individual waste bins. 

The area (a group of 40 communes in the north of the department of Haute-Vienne) is not the only one to implement a change in the way rubbish is collected. Earlier this year authorities in

Dordogne and Charente altered their charging systems, causing consternation among residents. 

In February a court rapporteur recommended that door-to-door rubbish collection should be reinstated in Dordogne, after the Syndicat mixte départemental des déchets de la Dordogne (SMD3)

implemented a PAV system for waste in 2023, with non-recyclable waste also being charged per bag.

Read more: Letters: Waste collection in France needs a rethink 

The imminent PAV system has been heavily criticised by many residents in Haut-Limousin en Marche, particularly those who are older, disabled, do not drive, or otherwise struggle to get

around with or without large bags. 

“How will we [take the bins down]?” said one resident to France 3. She uses a cane to walk, and her husband is also ill, she said.

Workers in the area have also said they are worried about the consequences of stopping door-to-door waste collection (which will apply to individual households as well as small businesses).

Cécile Camerola, who owns two small supermarkets in the communes of Le Dorat and Magnac-Laval (Haute-Vienne), told France 3 that the annual bill for waste collection from her businesses is

set to rise from €5,000 – which she currently pays to the local council – to nearly €20,000 for a private contractor. 

She said that she may have to let some workers go to meet the difference.

An group opposed to the change, le Collectif contre les PAV, now has more than 1,000 members, all of whom are calling for a reversal of the plans.

“‘The communauté de communes [intercommunal body for Haut-Limousin en Marche] is responsible for waste collection, but they are asking residents to do the work. That's unacceptable,” said

Nicolas Ovan, mayor of Cromac, one of the communes set to be affected.

An online petition opposing the project has gathered (at the time of writing) almost 1,300 signatures, with the collective claiming that almost a third of households in the community have

already signed it.

The communauté de communes is organising a series of public meetings in a bid to hear residents' grievances and explain the merits of the new system. 

Its president, Jean-François Perrin, has said that the new system will bring advantages, including: 

Lower environmental impact (due to fewer waste trucks on the road)

Residents in the area can call a hotline to ask questions and share concerns (07 68 77 26 61), he said.