Suez

            The following is a transcription during our visit to the SUEZ waste management plant outside of Lyon. Our host Cathy provided an instant translation, from French, on behalf of the facility representative with us this afternoon.

            "… In fact, [previously] methane before used to be burnt and [it’s energy potential to be used in other ways was] lost, but now we use and bring it back [up to the surface] thanks to a network of pipelines. It’s brought here through the pipelines to produce energy [we can effectively use locally or otherwise]. In fact, the gas passes through the engines and then they start rotating to produce electricity."

Polluted water area.

           "On the other site, this houses the polluted water that is turned into clean water. The water coming from the rain is collected by devices and brought to pools such as this one, [where it] is managed here. There are six or seven pools such as this one, and this water is controlled [and brought back up to quality standards] before being released into its natural environment [such as rivers, lakes, or where it can be in contact with the public]. Here you have external labs, where people come and measure, and check regularly the heavy metals and hydrocarbons, et cetera, and all of these biological aspects [of and in the water]. They ensure the water is remaining clean, and not polluted, knowing fully aware the water hasn’t actually been in contact with waste [from SUEZ's waste management operations]. The filters [to handle the originally contaminated water] become dangerous waste. They are carried to a specific facility in charge of dealing with dangerous waste [in order to dispose of them properly]. Certain categories of dangerous waste sometimes can be recycled and regenerated [into new materials for filters] but is only considered for about 20% for this type of waste. All of the leftover processed water, as seen in the green containers of water, are not considered dangerous waste and are burred here on site. This platform processed over 15,000 cubic meters per year [of water]. Every quarter, [methane extraction process results] are compared to controls to ensure there is no leak of methane. If there were a [significant] leak, people can smell it. It’s in nobody’s interest to have a leak because every single cubic meter of gas means a lot of Euros [are lost], so it’s in everyone’s interest to ensure there are no leaks."

Massive holes are dug into the ground, between 30-40 meters deep, which house undesirable and essentially hopeless plastic waste that was otherwise deemed unrecyclable.

            "There has been a control on the underwater layers by a system of pipes dug down between layers, up and down the site, to make sure the site does not impact the quality of underground water. Every quarter, there’s an external lab through a subcontractor which comes to assist the quality of the water to ensure there are no long-term impacts [from the operations of the waste management procedures]. If we had trees [throughout the management land], they could attract birds. Due to being in the proximity of the airport, there is a co-activity between the airport and here [where the facility grounds are situation], which could generate crashes and accidents from the birds. So, they try not to attract too many birds or animals to the area. There are still a few birds around, but not as many as there would be if there were trees. Compared to the wild, there are not many birds that come to this area."

…

            "It is very difficult to combine environmental concerns and economical concerns because the problem is, if you produce less, if you consume less, then of course the economic field [business entities whose purpose is to promote consumer consumption and circulation of money within the economy] will suffer from it. We realize when there’s an economic crisis, a recession, of course there’s a ton of waste that decreases [ in public facilities like SUEZ because people trash their belongings or dispose of them in ways to financially benefit themselves rather than taking responsible actions to forgone those items], and we can hardly call this good news. That’s the problem: what’s good news? It is when we consume and waste less, or is it when we become a poorer and less organized [nation]? As we reduce our consumption and become more sustainable, we will see the birth of new types of industries linked to sustainable development and sustainable energies. The idea is we have to be stakeholders in sorting out our processes. Reducing our consumption is one thing, but also being able to recycle, to reuse, to sort out, will also be important as well; we have to become actors, real stakeholders, in the process. The idea is all the units dealing and managing our waste must be remanaged under [tighter] controls and we can be sure we can actually anticipate the control of movement [to show actual progress is being made for a more ideal and greener environment]." 

The waste is continuously mixed with earth as the hole is filled higher and higher. Although one location can provide methane gas from 25-30 years once filled, this is a wakeup call to our plastic waste hunger.

            "Each continent must be autonomous, because the problem is, on a global scale, we tend to consider some countries as our landfills. It’s extremely difficult to think in terms of a micro-economy because for a long time we have been sending plastic waste to Asia, and we have buried some waste in Africa- so we cannot continue going on thinking of our own domestic needs, we must think globally and decide each continent [ and thus each country itself] is responsible for its own waste and there is no reason why we consider other continents or countries as our landfills. If the waste [we send to other countries] is harmful for us [to keep on our own land] it is harmful for other people as well. The idea of changing the trend comes from education, up bring, behavior, awareness, a sense of self-diversity, a sense of responsibility, [and] eco-responsible citizens."

This facility services over 4 million people's waste in the Rhône-Alpes region, in addition to tourists.

Work cited

IUT Lumière Lyon 2, Madame Cathy/SUEZ. Translation. SUEZ Waste Management facility, 27 June 2019, Lyon.