Towards zero waste: Football Écologie France and the VALTOM and SMICTOM unions join forces

In the midst of European Week for Waste Reduction, from November 18 to 26, Football Écologie France is highlighting the innovative collaboration between its Clermont-Ferrand and Strasbourg branches and the VALTOM and SMICTOM waste management syndicates of Alsace Centrale. Our common goal? To guide soccer clubs and their communities towards responsible, zero-waste practices.

The VALTOM and SMICTOM syndicates, key players in waste collection and recovery, work with local authorities to achieve high waste prevention and reduction targets. At the same time, soccer clubs welcome thousands of spectators to their stadiums every weekend, generating a significant amount of waste (10t on average per Ligue 1 match). We therefore worked with these two associations to set up local support schemes.

With VALTOM, we have launched the "Mon Club de Sport 0 Déchet" operation in the Puy-de-Dôme and northern Haute-Loire regions, aimed at supporting 12 clubs in reducing, sorting and recovering their waste. The program offers expert support, waste diagnostics, and fun, practical workshops leading to the implementation of new eco-responsible practices. By raising awareness and helping these 12 clubs to implement concrete actions, we are also reaching out to all their communities, meaning that several thousand people will be involved in waste reduction.

In Alsace and the Strasbourg branch, we collaborated with SMICTOM to run an awareness-raising operation for over 50 schoolchildren, particularly from the Sport-Études section.

These initiatives contribute not only to waste management, but also to global awareness of environmental issues. Through challenges and workshops, we help people in the world of sport to become aware of the importance of waste management and to produce less of it.

The collaboration between Football Écologie France and the VALTOM and SMICTOM unions shows that sport can and must be an agent of positive change in terms of ecology, and particularly the world of soccer with its many licensees and spectators.
In this European Week for Waste Reduction, we hope to inspire other unions and clubs to join this movement for more responsible soccer.