Emptying the trash can is such an ordinary action that we never ask ourselves the question of what we really put in there. What if the real problem wasn't emptying the trash, but what we choose to throw in?
The 2025 edition of the MODECOM® study, published by ADEME, the Ecological Transition Agency, scrutinized the actual composition of French trash cans. The observation is straightforward: almost 7 out of 10 waste found in the “gray” bin, that of conventional unsorted household waste, could in reality have been sorted or recycled in another way. In other words, the vast majority of what we throw in this trash has nothing to do there. Recyclable packaging, compostable organic waste, paper intended for the sorting bin: all of this too often ends up in the same place, mixed up, even though a channel already existed for each.
This figure is all the more striking given that France is making progress on the subject: according to the same study, the quantity of waste sorted by households has increased in recent years, and the proportion of sorting errors remains stable, around 69%. A stability which shows the limits of individual effort alone: ​​despite growing awareness and years of campaigns on selective sorting, a large part of the French continue to systematically mix what could be valued with what really cannot be. The act of "clearing out the trash" is therefore not limited to a simple clearance: it is, with each bag thrown away, a repeated decision on what deserves a second life or not.

What this task actually involves

Garbage disposal consists of emptying the bins filled in the house, in particular the one in the kitchen where everyday waste accumulates most quickly, then replacing the bag to start again on a clean basis. Allow around 5 minutes for this operation, a quick gesture but which comes up frequently, several times a week depending on the pace of life in the household.

Tips and tricks for better sorting on a daily basis

Installing several separate bins directly in the kitchen, rather than a single general trash can, changes habits considerably: sorting is done naturally at the very moment you throw away, without having to sort an already mixed bag afterwards. A dedicated bin for recyclable packaging next to the traditional trash can is often enough to drastically reduce sorting errors noted by ADEME.
For organic waste (peeings, coffee grounds, uneaten food scraps), compost, even small ones in an apartment with a worm composter, can divert a significant portion of the volume that usually ends up in the gray trash. According to ADEME, organic waste represents a significant part of the contents of our trash cans, even though it could almost systematically be recycled differently.
If in doubt about a specific piece of packaging, it is better to check the sorting instructions in your municipality once (they vary locally) than to reflexively continue to throw it into the wrong bin: once the right action has been identified for a given type of packaging, it becomes automatic for all subsequent times.

With nearly 7 out of 10 wastes that should never have ended up in the gray bin according to ADEME, "picking up the bins" is perhaps not the strictly mechanical chore that we imagine. Above all, it is an opportunity, several times a week, to catch up or avoid a large part of these sorting errors which persist despite years of awareness.