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Waste & Recycling Collection

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Waste & Recycling Collection

Also known as: garbage, trash, rubbish, bins, poubelles.

Bénac is served by SMECTOM du Plantaurel (the waste authority for the Communauté d’Agglomération du Pays de Foix-Varilhes). Curbside collection alternates between two bins on a two-week cycle.

Sources

All info on this page is sourced from SMECTOM directly:

Collection Schedule

BinWhat goes inPut outCollection dayWeek
🟡 Bac jaune (yellow lid)Packaging & recyclables (emballages)Tuesday nightWednesdayOdd weeks (S.I — semaines impaires)
⚫ Bac gris (gray)Household residual waste (ordures ménagères résiduelles)Thursday nightFridayEven weeks (S.P — semaines paires)

Take the bin out the night before

The truck can come early in the morning. Tuesday night → bac jaune (odd weeks). Thursday night → bac gris (even weeks). Bring the bin back onto the property as soon as it’s been emptied.

2026 Calendar

The SMECTOM calendar marks each week as S.I (odd, pink) or S.P (even, green). Check the row for the current week to know which bin (if any) goes out.

Quick check

Not sure which week we’re in? Look at the strip on the left of the calendar — the row color (pink = S.I = bac jaune Wednesday; green = S.P = bac gris Friday) tells you what’s coming.

How to Put the Bin Out

Rules from SMECTOM

  • Put the bin out the evening before collection, at the edge of the public road.
  • Bring it back onto the property as soon as collection is done.
  • Handles facing the road, at the spot indicated by the SMECTOM crew.
  • No bags or waste piled at the foot of the bin — they won’t be picked up.
  • If the bin is locked, put out the red tag (balise rouge) so the crew knows to collect it, and bring the tag back in afterwards.

Only put out a full bin

SMECTOM asks residents to skip pickups when the bin isn’t full and wait for the next pass. Each emptying is counted toward the variable portion of the household waste tax (TEOMi — taxe d’enlèvement des ordures ménagères incitative): 1 vidage = 1 comptage.

Access Card (Carte d’accès)

The chateau should have a SMECTOM access card. It’s needed for:

  • Dropping off household waste bags into collective containers (if used in lieu of curbside)
  • Visiting any of the 7 SMECTOM déchèteries (recycling/waste drop-off centers)

Déchèterie drop-offs are free for individuals, except green waste (déchets verts), which is capped at 18 visits per year — beyond that, the professional tariff applies.

Bag size limit for collective containers

Sacs deposited in collective containers must be 60 L maximum. A 100 L sac won’t fit through the opening. Two 30 L sacs can go in in one badge.

Online account

Track bin pickups, sac deposits, and déchèterie visits at smectom.ecocito.com (log in with the card details).

If the card is lost or broken

  • Doesn’t scan? Make sure it isn’t bent or pierced. Hold it against the reader for a few seconds (don’t swipe). Try a different reader to isolate the fault.
  • Defective: mail it back to SMECTOM du Plantaurel, Las Plantos, 09120 Varilhes — replacement is free. Or drop in at the Varilhes office (Mon–Fri, 8h30–12h / 13h30–16h30).
  • Lost or damaged: replacement is €10 in person at Varilhes, or €10 + stamped return envelope (or €12 without) by mail.
  • Stolen: file a police report at the gendarmerie; a free replacement is issued on presentation of the report.

Contact

Reference

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