This work, the result of a research partnership between Syctom and the Ecole des Ponts, traces for the first time the history of urban management of organic waste up to the present day and is characterized both by its scientific rigor and by its accessibility to the general public.
2024 marks the 40th anniversary of Syctom and also the entry into force of the obligation to sort biowaste at source. At a time when the sectors for returning biowaste to the ground are experiencing a new boom, this publication is intended to be a contribution to today’s debates on the relationship between the city and the flow of organic matter and a unique opportunity to learn from the past in order to look to the future and the many challenges that come with it.
A history spanning more than 6 centuries, from the Middle Ages to the industrial era
Tracing for the first time the history of organic waste management in the Paris metropolitan area from the Ancien Régime to the present day, this book presents itself as a richly illustrated and educational story. It describes over several centuries the close relationships maintained by city dwellers with their organic waste, highlighting the variety of organizations and practices as well as the difficulties encountered in achieving objectives that are regularly called into question.
The story immerses the reader in medieval Paris, alongside pigs and poultry that feed on organic matter in the streets. Over time and urban development, traffic problems, epidemics and beautification logic will lead the administration to gradually equip itself with a public cleaning service. In the 19th century, many sectors for the recovery of urban organic matter supplied agriculture, crafts and industry.
A work that invites the reader to discover – beyond the prefect’s famous garbage bin Poubelle and the work of the rag-and-bone men – the variety of inventions and practices of this period: the Tournon garbage cache, the bread crust recycling channels of Father Chapelier, the production of luxury gloves from rat skins and the farmers’ enthusiasm for Parisian mud.
The authors
Emmanuel Adler is a consulting engineer, legal expert, and has worked for over 30 years in the fields of sanitation and household waste management. He teaches and works as an associate researcher at the Ecole des Ponts, and he also chairs the Interprofessional Network of Organic Sub-Products (RISPO) association.
Fabien Esculier is an engineer of the Corps des Ponts, des eaux et des forêts, researcher and teacher at the École des Ponts ParisTech in the Water, Environment and Urban Systems (LEESU) laboratory. He coordinates the OCAPI action research program which aims to study and support the socio-ecological transition of urban food/excretion systems and in particular to investigate the potential for a paradigm shift in the management of human urine and feces through source separation and agricultural recovery.
