Recovering garbage juice and other residues is the pilot project in which Idelux-Environnement is actively participating with various European partners (laboratories, research centers or SMEs). For nearly three years now, the partners have been working on experiments to create the materials of the future. At the Idelux Tenneville site, virtually all organic waste undergoes a treatment procedure that results in the residue producing biogas, which is recovered as heat and electricity. Rest, a few hundred kilos which are treated differently. “We stop the process and tell the bacteria stop”, explains Marie-Aline Pierrard, project manager. “We kind of keep the chain of ‘Lego’ longer and we have more carbon!” In the end, there remains a liquid, garbage juice which might be used in particular in the production of recyclable plastic bags, for example, and the fibers can become insulation panels or new materials. The pilot project, which ends this year, will have enabled laboratories and research centers to imagine these new products, but we are still very far from commercialization. “Companies should use this new raw material”, continues Marie-Aline Pierrard. “The cost of their production must also be analyzed and reduced to be competitive!” In short, the hope of the various partners is to receive new aid from Europe to continue the work begun.
