If the wastewater is taken care of by well-developed sanitation systems, the rainwater in which all urban waste is found ends up flowing without filter into the sea. The start-up Vertuoso aims to eliminate this problem at the source, thanks to filtering receptacles installed at strategic locations. Its co-founders tell us how it works.
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In the Mediterranean alone, 600,000 tonnes of plastic waste are dumped into the ocean every year. Added to this are all the other wastes dumped into nature and washed away by rainwater, such as packaging, particles of tires, sand and gravel from construction sites, etc. All this waste is carried away by the water when it rains and inexorably lands in the sea where it generates a significant visual and chemical pollution. ” And both waste domestic and industrial are supported by the network ofsanitation, as this urban waste is not subject to any special measures », Explains Benjamin Blanchard, co-founder of the start-up tricolor Virtue, who designed a trap system to prevent this disaster.
A sort of big funnel where the waste collects
Founded in 2019, Vertuoso designs metal receptacles to be placed on weirs, that is to say at the place where rivers aggregate before flowing into the sea. ” These weirs are a bit like a big funnel where all the urban waste collects. », Illustrates Benjamin Blanchard. Depending on the size of the cities, their population or their topography, there are thus between one and five large spillways per city, where Vertuoso will deposit its metal cages to filter the waste. ” We first analyze the strategic places where to install the cages according to the rainwater network and we propose the most suitable strategy. », Explains Romain Garcin, also co-founder.
A simple but effective filtration system
The receptacle, of a volume of 16 square meters, has meshes between 5 and 12 millimeters depending on the waste to be collected. It is generally picked up every month, or after a heavy rain for example. ” Do not wait until it is full, this could prevent the good filtration garbage », Specifies Benjamin Blanchard. In addition to urban waste, the cage captures organic waste such as dead leaves which act as ” sensors »For other pollutants. ” For example, we noticed during the collection that the leaves were coated with soot from the particles of tires and engine oil. », Notes the entrepreneur.
Recover plastic waste
The start-up has so far installed a single cage in Draguignan, but is in advanced discussions with surrounding municipalities (Saint-Raphaël, Fréjus, Roquebrune and Marseille). ” We are targeting ten boxes by the end of 2022 », Announces Benjamin Blanchard. But what happens to the waste once it is collected? ” We are in the process of forging partnerships to enhance the content of our collections », Says Romain Garcin. the plastic used can for example be pyrolyzed to generate matter first virgin, and the gravel recovered for use on construction sites. The start-up also plans to make use of the data collected, to allow the communities of municipalities to assess their collection system and the consumption of residents.
Article produced in partnership with Vertuoso and Le Village by CA PACA.
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