Mayotte, the poorest department in France, is experiencing one of the worst episodes of drought in its history. It is an island without water. The authorities will ship several million plastic bottles starting this Monday, November 20. They must meet the needs of the population. But the fear now is the imminence of an ecological disaster.
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There is one “image” which alone shows the seriousness of the situation: of the eleven rivers which supply the taps, only three to four sources are still usable. Mayotte reaches the end of its reserves. To face this crisis, 17 million liters of drinking water will now be distributed each month. It is a real human and above all ecological logistical challenge.
The recycling challenge
State services recognize this. The island will have to manage according to them “ an unprecedented volume of plastic packaging “. And it’s a challenge: in 2022, 43 tonnes of plastic waste had been recycled. With this distribution, this time more than 11 tonnes will have to be collected each day.
Deposit system
The authorities therefore announce that a deposit system will be put in place, to try to prevent bottles from ending up in nature. Everyone will have to bring them back to get a new one. But the archipelago is already struggling to manage the garbage that accumulates. The fear of pollution is real. A bottle is not biodegradable, it takes between 100 and 1,000 years to decompose in nature.
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