Zéro Déchet “Zéro Waste”

Our vision of "Zéro Waste" ecotourism

At the holiday domain "Le Domaine du Moulin Neuf 1605", we want all domain guests to stay "Zéro Waste". We do this by properly informing our domain guests about waste separation options and asking them to help us sort all waste properly, cleanly and safely. If we separate all waste neatly then we can say that ecotourism does not create residual waste but rather minimises it.

"Zéro Waste" accommodation in our holiday cottages

Our holiday cottages "Gîte la Fonderie" and "Gîte la Forge" are both equipped with separated waste containers in the kitchen. In these containers, guests can easily separate 3 types of waste in one simple operation.

Other waste such as food waste in the form of vegetables, fruit and anything compostable can be deposited in a special compost container near the environmental station of our holiday domain. If guests staying in our holiday cottages do not know what to do with a particular item of waste or how best to sort it, we ask them to keep it separate and ask us for it so that it does not simply end up in the residual waste container. In addition, our guests can also visit the environmental station in the large barn where they will find several containers to separate all waste.

Staying "Zéro Waste" with your motorhome “Camper” or tent

We realise that separating waste can still be difficult in your camper van or tent due to a lack of space and therefore difficult to dispose of separated waste. Precisely because you have less space, you are more likely to throw your waste in one bag and put it in the container with the rest of the waste. This is extremely wasteful and absolutely unnecessary!

For the domain guests staying on the "Camper Space" camper pitches or nature camping with their tent on one of the "Wild Camp" pitches, we have created an environmental station in the large barn. In the containers provided, domain guests can easily separate waste in a simple operation.

Of course, there is more waste to separate

For all the waste that our domain guests of the holiday cottages, the "Camper Space" camper pitches and the "Wild Camp" natural camping pitches cannot directly separate themselves, an environmental station is located in the large barn of the holiday domain. In this environmental station, the remaining waste can still be easily separated by the domain guests 

themselves!Waste can be sorted into the following containers:

• Paper such as newspapers, magazines, etc.
• Cardboard, mostly brown packaging material
• Cardboard drinks packaging
• Plastic such as bottles, trays, tubs etc.
• Metal packaging such as cans etc.
• Glass such as bottles and jars without cork or lids
• Hygiene products
• Empty batteries
• Small chemical waste such as nail varnish jars
• Appliances and electronics
• Compostable waste such as vegetables, fruit, etc.

What remains after proper sorting is residual waste!

The waste that remains after separating recyclable waste, that's all we call residual waste! By separating waste properly, very little residual waste remains in the end, which is better for the environment! Some examples of residual waste are:

• Deep-frying fat
• Cat litter
• Dog waste bags
• Nappies, sanitary towels, tampons, etc.
• Handkerchiefs, cotton swabs etc.

Processing residual waste costs money, a lot of money, so the better you separate recyclable waste and the less residual waste you are left with, the cheaper it is for yourself.

Waste collection in general

Waste collection in France is handled by SMD3. Until 1 January 2023, all Dordogne households could offer their waste at one of the many container stations along the road or in the villages. The containers were publicly accessible and the cost of waste disposal was calculated per household based on a fixed annual fee per person, for a 2-person household this was about € 475,00.

From 1 January 2023, the residual waste container was electronically closed and all households were issued a pass for controlled and registered opening of the residual waste container. This means that the residual waste container is no longer publicly accessible and households have to pay per deposit. A charge of € 5,22 is now charged for a deposit of a rubbish bag of up to 60 litres, which is a lot of money! In addition, a subscription for service fee must also be paid at € 109,00 per year per household.

All recyclable waste such as paper, cardboard, plastic, cans and grass can still be handed in for free at the container stations. So the better you separate recyclable waste and the less residual waste you present, the cheaper it is for yourself. All in all, residual waste is therefore very expensive!

Guests pay for their own residual waste

On the holiday domain "Le Domaine du Moulin Neuf 1605" there is a Zéro Déchet "Zéro Waste" policy. All domain guests are expected to neatly separate all waste and pay for the disposal of the non-recyclable residual waste remaining after separation themselves, this particularly concerns the domain guests of the "Camper Space" camper pitches and the "Wild Camp" natural camping pitches. This of course only concerns the waste produced by the domain guest himself!

All waste separated by the campsite guest is collected free of charge at the "Le Domaine du Moulin Neuf 1605" holiday domain and therefore does not cost the campsite guest anything! If a domain guest chooses not to sort and puts all the waste in one bag and then presents it as unsorted recyclable residual waste, the domain guest will unfortunately have to pay for this.
For all domain guests of the "Camper Space" motorhome sites and the "Wild Camp" natural camping sites who sort their own waste neatly and then still have some residual waste left over, they can dispose of this free of charge at the holiday domain. We assume that this residual waste is only a little and is limited to the maximum content of a pedal bin bag (16 litre capacity) and is presented once for the duration of the stay at the holiday domain. Each additional bin bag, with a capacity of 16l, handed in will cost the domain guest € 2,00 per bag.

Campers on the "Camper Space" and "Wild Camp" pitches who choose not to sort their own waste at all can make this known and buy a special residual waste bag (60l capacity) at the holiday park. This special residual waste bag may then be used by the domain guest to hand in unsorted recyclable residual waste at the holiday park's environmental station. The cost of this special 60-litre residual waste bag is € 5,50 per bag.