Two years ago, at the time of the filing of the appeals, they had estimated that the closure of the first incinerator in France would be "a very strong signal".
Justice swept away part of their arguments on Thursday.
By rejecting the appeals filed by the Zero Waste association and the 3R collective, the administrative court of Melun (Seine-et-Marne) validates the reconstruction of the incinerator of Ivry-sur-Seine (Val-de-Marne), its “transformation”, as Syctom, the metropolitan household waste agency, which brings together 84 municipalities in Ile-de-France, calls it.
This incinerator, the largest in Europe, burns waste from 15 cities in the region, including Paris.
The project, launched already in November 2018, aims to transform an “aging” center into “state-of-the-art equipment”, by replacing the existing incinerator with an energy recovery unit (UVE).
What to treat by incineration an annual quantity of 350,000 tons of household waste against 730,000 per year on average, currently.
The current plant will cease to operate once the new one has actually started up, with commissioning expected in early 2024.
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“We must ensure continuity of public service,” explains Bruno Bernier, responsible for the Ivry project at Syctom, who welcomes the decision “because it will allow the transformation to move forward more calmly”.
With a project started two and a half years ago.
"We have a court decision on a permit while the work is more than well underway", reacts a spokesperson for the 3R collective at the origin of the various appeals filed "hand in hand" with the association Zero Waste.
Appeal on several aspects: the building permit, the general interest of the project, and finally the operating permit issued by the prefecture of Val-de-Marne.
The first two have been validated by the courts, the decision for the last is not yet known.
"It's a lot of disappointment, there is no other word"
“We really question the need for this huge project.
It's a lot of disappointment, there is no other word, ”summarizes a Zero Waste activist.
Will it bring the collective and the association before the administrative court of appeal?
At Zero Waste, “we don't know yet”.
For the 3R collective, “the subject is on the table and there will be debate”.
"We do not stop there", promises this spokesperson for whom "the case will be judged on the merits only with the license to operate, which relates to the environmental impact".
Paris (1st).
In April 2019, environmental activists and elected officials gathered under the windows of Syctom, boulevard Sébastopol.
LP / Maxime Francois
Their members believe for the moment that the conclusions of the court on the quality of the air are "weak", "concise", evoking a "bad signal".
The court considered that "the impact study had made a correct account of the initial state of the surrounding air", ruling that "the prefect was not required, within the framework of this building permit, to 'impose specific measures to reduce emissions of fine dust and nitrogen dioxide, noting that the incineration of household waste contributes only marginally to the discharge of these pollutants ”.
Opponents want at all costs "to prevent the second factory"
When for the 3R collective, the incinerator is "a big contributor to air pollution" for which it monitors the slightest malfunction.
Pending the court decision on this last resort, he announces that he will “direct all his efforts to prevent the second factory”.
Not the UVE this time, but the UVO, for "organic recovery unit" which consists in mechanically extracting organic matter from household waste to make biogas.
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Also launched by Syctom, this project is subject to a moratorium launched in November 2019, "at the request of the town hall of Ivry", specifies Bruno Bernier, voted at the time unanimously by the union council.
The final abandonment of the project was subject to one condition: that the cities concerned take advantage of these three years to develop sorting at source with separate collection, "that is why this moratorium was taken", recalls Bruno Bernier.
This moratorium and the reduced deadline is also what worries the PCF mayor of Ivry Philippe Bouyssou, moreover "not surprised" by the decision of the administrative court and finding "normal that an associative fight translates to the legal level".
"Our position is clear: we must find an alternative to the UVO and this work is still in progress with Syctom", explains the elected official.
During this moratorium, "no authorization can be filed," says Bruno Bernier, no administrative process initiated.
There are now just over six months left before this path opens again.