Our Project

Managing green waste in the city of Paris has become a growing emergency.

In fact, in the city, green waste represent today more than 22% of the average household’s bin. This biodegradable trash - which could easily return to the earth - is transported with non-biodegradable items to garbage dumps and incinerated, thus generating unnecessary costs as well as greenhouse gases. Although various initiatives have been put forward by the city of Paris and locals themselves to segregate waste and give greens a second life, successful results are lacking.

In theory, we can reasonably assume that everyone in the capital city is willing to segregate green waste and compost, if this can have a positive impact on waste management, and more globally on climate change. However, the system has to be convenient to get people involved, and unfortunately, it is hardly the case. You might be willing to compost, but not necessarily to have a ‘worm-composter’ in your apartment and to walk two kilometers to get rid of your rotten greens. On top of that, in the city of Paris, people too often face red tape to have access to composters, and as such are discouraged to do so. For example, ‘neighborhood composters’ are usually run by local associations you need to get in touch with and ask for permission to have access to the composting field. In this context, the issue at stake is not one of awareness, but rather of accessibility. Today, more and more people are in favor of composting, but we need to give them the appropriate tools to join the movement. Segregating and composting biodegradable waste would help reducing the average household’s bin by 77 kgs yearly.

In this context, why does our capital city not have its own public ‘green bins’ to segregate and compost biodegradable waste? Simply because it requires people to know what is biodegradable and what is not. If it seems quite obvious at first sight, any negligent behavior is nevertheless deeply deeply harmful for the system as a whole. Composting requires a careful balance, so if green waste is not correctly segregated in the first place, the process cannot work correctly.

With GRIN, we aim to make compost accessible to everyone and to raise awareness about ‘good’ composting practices. We hope to bring together local and private composting initiatives to build an efficient and publicly available system.

How to use the containers?

Our system is based on wooden composting containers strategically located in open and public places, such as parks. At every spot, there will be two containers: the first one to dispose of your green waste, and the second one to collect compost. Our system is free, but nevertheless based on a give-take model: every user needs to contribute in the first place to be able to collect compost later.

giving

Containers can be easily located thanks to the interactive map provided in our mobile application. Users have to register on our platform to comply with our ‘code of honor’ first, before being able to use the containers. In fact, we need to make sure that every participant will have a respectful behavior. On top of that, every container is equipped with a flash code and a keypad to be opened. The user either has to flash the code using our mobile application, or alternatively, key in his identification number - delivered via email once he registered. Our application will also feature a ‘composting tips’ section to help users segregate between what is compostable and what is not.

collecting

Following Robert D. Raabe’s method, composting takes on average two to three weeks. Once the system is launched, we can reasonably estimate that participants will be able to collect compost on a regular basis after a month of operation - if the amount of biodegradable waste provided is enough, and given that not every participant will need compost.

The collecting procedure is the same as the giving one: users need to scan the QR code or key in their identification number to open the container. However, it will only open if the user previously dispose of green waste in the giving container - this information will be stored on your personal account.