Sorting gesture simplified in Mayotte

Following the implementation of "the simplification of the sorting gesture" on May 1, 2026, the eco-organization Citeo launched a major awareness campaign in collaboration with the Nayma reintegration association. The operation ended last week, and Citeo officials reported a positive initial assessment: 70,000 households in Mayotte were reached, covering two-thirds of the island's households.

Expanded recycling guidelines

Since May 1, 2026, all plastic and metal packaging is accepted in yellow bins, including bottles, yogurt pots, trays, films, and sachets. This simplification aims to encourage Mahorais to sort more waste, as the territory's waste storage facility (ISDND of Dzoumogné) approaches saturation.

Simple preparation for recycling

There is no need to wash packaging before disposing of it; it is sufficient to empty it and remove the main food residues. Bottles can be crushed to save space, but packaging should not be nested inside each other, as this could disrupt their separation at the sorting center. Shampoo bottles and other bathroom packaging are also affected by the new guidelines.

Collaboration with reintegration organization

To support this change, Citeo partnered with Nayma, a professional reintegration organization specializing in environmental jobs. From June to early October, 54 employees covered the 17 communes of Mayotte, visiting households in the streets and door-to-door, even in the most remote areas.

Reaching remote areas

According to the assessment, about 70,000 households were effectively reached by the campaign, approximately two-thirds of Mahorais households. In Mamoudzou, where the initial goal was 16,000 households, the teams encountered more than 22,000.

Educating residents on sorting

The work sometimes started from the basics. In some precarious neighborhoods, some residents did not even know what it was about. "They had noticed the bins for some, but did not know what this installation was for," said Assima, one of the Nayma employees who traveled through Mayotte's villages to raise awareness.

Varied public reception

On the ground, the reception was variable. Assima noted that younger people were generally "more receptive," partly because they had already been sensitized to sorting at school. For some elderly people, however, the initiative was completely unknown. There was no question of insisting on "reluctant residents": the goal was to inform, not to force.

Challenges with access

However, a recurring difficulty in the exchanges was the distance from collection points. For residents without a vehicle, transporting their sorted waste to the bins could quickly become discouraging. Mayotte currently has 238 sorting points, distributed across all communes. This coverage is still insufficient, according to Citeo, which plans to install an additional fifty bins.

Logistical and maintenance issues

Their installation, however, faces access difficulties, particularly in neighborhoods where the road network does not easily allow the passage of garbage collection trucks. Existing equipment also suffers from significant damage. The stickers reminding people of the guidelines are sometimes torn off within a few days. Citeo is therefore considering using more durable stencil markings.

Improper waste disposal

Another problem: waste deposited in the wrong columns or large sealed bags, which complicate, or even prevent, their processing. Should the openings of the bins be reduced to prevent errors, risking discouraging users who have to insert their packaging one by one? Or should they be widened to facilitate the deposit? For Nicolas Moulin, the entire challenge is to find "the right balance to address the various problems encountered."

Current waste management volume

Citeo currently handles about 600 tons of sorted waste per year in Mayotte: 300 tons of plastics and metals, 150 tons of glass, and 150 tons of paper and cardboard. Once collected, the materials are transported to the Longoni sorting center, operated by STAR Mayotte, where they are separated before being sent to external recycling facilities outside the territory.

Transportation challenges

Plastics and metals go to France, while paper and cardboard are directed to Asian markets (mainly India and Thailand). This dependence on maritime transport extends the deadlines and increases the cost of operations. When ships have to circumnavigate Africa via the Cape of Good Hope rather than using the Suez Canal, trips can go from 4 or 5 weeks to 8 or 9 weeks.

Local recycling initiatives

" But this is a problem that affects all types of goods," Nicolas Moulin tempered. In Mayotte, local recycling possibilities remain limited, although some initiatives exist, particularly around rigid plastics (Habit’âme, for example), and some project leaders are considering ways to recycle locally paper and cardboard. Nicolas Moulin believes that this last sector is the most promising for local recycling.

Future awareness efforts

The awareness campaign will not end with this first operation. Citeo plans a new media campaign starting in late November while continuing its work with the communes to densify the collection network. The eco-organization is also considering ways to encourage residents to sort more. Reward programs, such as Douka Tri, which reward waste contributions, are one of the possible options.

Sustaining the effort

Behind the simplification of the guidelines, the challenge remains significant: diverting as much waste as possible from Mayotte's storage facility (ISDND), whose capacity is not unlimited and which has also been partially damaged by Chido. However, it is necessary that each resident can easily access a sorting bin, and Citeo continues its work in this direction.