Besançon area (SYBERT), Doubs, France

What was done

The SYBERT (the waste authority for the Besançon area, Doubs, France) ran "Des poules pour réduire mes déchets" as a deliberately communication-focused test-household action. It selected 16 test households (from 200 applicants), including one Besançon-based association running a midday catering service, and monitored the food waste they diverted to hens over a 3-month experiment.

The framing was distinctive: the SYBERT designed the action primarily to communicate broadly about waste prevention — "everyone has their own method to reduce waste" — and partnered with a well-known local comedian (the character "la Madeleine Proust") to carry the message. The authority cited an IPSOS survey showing animal-feeding was already a non-negligible waste-reduction practice locally (~12% of households).

Results

• 0.36 tonnes of food waste diverted to animal feeding over the 3-month experiment across the 16 households (composted waste not counted).
• 200 applications for 16 places.

What a replicating authority should know

• A hen action can be run primarily as a communication vehicle. The SYBERT's main aim was visibility for waste prevention generally — the 16 households were the hook, not the mechanism. If the goal is awareness rather than tonnage, design accordingly and keep the pilot small.
• A local celebrity partner amplifies reach. Partnering with a recognised regional comedian gave the message cut-through it would not have had from the authority alone.
• Survey first to position the message. The SYBERT used an IPSOS survey showing ~12% already feed animals to frame hens as a normal, established practice rather than a novelty.
• Small short pilots yield small numbers. 0.36 t over 3 months from 16 households is modest — appropriate for a communication pilot, but not a basis for territory-wide diversion claims.

Honest reading

Outcome recorded as partial: the action succeeded on its own communication-focused terms and produced a clean measured figure, but the diverted tonnage is small and the pilot was short, so it does not by itself demonstrate large-scale waste impact.