Subsidised laying-hen distribution: give households hens that eat food scraps on site
#00031
A municipality buys laying hens from regional breeders and distributes them — free or heavily subsidised — to households with garden space that register. The hens eat kitchen scraps, diverting biowaste at source, and give households eggs in return. Run as a complement to curbsid…
Communauté de communes du Sud Territoire (CCST)· 2013–2016· City
Hens per household2hens
Years run2013-2016period
1 source
Syndicat mixte Trigone (Gers)· since 2014· Region
Test households (applicants)~80households
Hens per household2hens
1 source
Lisses, Essonne, France
PartialCommune de Lisses, with Siredom· since 2016· City
Households served per year100households
Hens distributed per year200hens
1 source
Municipality of Etterbeek (with Bruxelles-Environnement)· since 2014· Neighborhood
Participating households~20households
Year started2014year
1 source
Mouscron, Hainaut, Belgium
SuccessCity of Mouscron· since 2010· Neighborhood
Pairs of hens distributed (per round)50pairs
Year of first round2010year
2 sources
Diest, Flemish Brabant, Belgium
InconclusiveTown of Diest· City
Participating families~2000families
Hens per family3hens
1 source
Communauté de communes du Pays Haut Val d'Alzette (CCPHVA)· since 2014· City
Test hens40hens
Biowaste consumed (3-month operation, 40 hens)255kg
1 source
SYBERT (Syndicat mixte de Besançon et de sa région)· since 2014· City
Test households16households
Applications received200households
1 source
Communauté d'agglomération de Mantes-en-Yvelines (CAMY)· 2015–2016· City
Test households59households
Waste diverted October 2015 (59 households)633.78kg
CAMY Local Waste Reduction Programme (Programme Local de Prévention des Déchets)· 1 source
Pincé, Sarthe, France
SuccessCommune de Pincé· 2012· Neighborhood
Households participating31households
Hens per household2hens
1 source
Commune de Barsac / CC de Podensac; ValOrizon (Lot-et-Garonne waste authority)· since 2017· Region
Hens distributed (Barsac)1000hens
Bulk purchase cost (Barsac, 1000 hens)8500EUR
2 sources
SIRMOTOM, Montereau area, Seine-et-Marne, France
InconclusiveSIRMOTOM (inter-municipal waste authority, Montereau area)· 2013–2014· City
Test households40households
Hens per household2hens
SIRMOTOM local waste-prevention programme· 1 source
SMITOM du Santerre· 2014–2017· Region
Hens distributed 2014 (8 communes)~300hens
Hens distributed 2015 (65 communes)~1900hens
SMITOM du Santerre and member communautés de communes; ADEME-backed waste-prevention programme (2011–2016)· 2 sources
Vendée department, France
SuccessTrivalis (Syndicat mixte départemental, Vendée)· 2013–2014· Region
Pilot households (2013)37households
Households served (2014 rollout)~600households
Trivalis (Vendée departmental waste authority) and member local authorities· 2 sources
Antwerp, Belgium
OngoingCity of Antwerp (environmental department)· City
Households participating1000+households
Average waste reduction per household (reported)~50kg/year
2 sources
Municipality of Opwijk / INZET· 2018· Neighborhood
Households served30households
Hens distributed60hens
1 source
Province of Limburg, Belgium
OngoingLimburg.net (inter-municipal waste authority, Province of Limburg + Diest)· Region
Families adopting hens in one year (reported)2500+families
Waste processed per hen (authority guidance)up to 50kg/year
3 sources
SICTOM Nord Allier· 2013–2015· City
Test households20households
Applications received100+households
SICTOM Nord Allier local waste-prevention programme· 1 source
SIMER (Syndicat Interdépartemental Mixte pour l'Équipement Rural)· 2014–2015· Region
Households applied922households
Hens distributed (2014-2015)~800hens
SIMER local waste-prevention programme, supported by ADEME· 2 sources
Territoire de la Côte Ouest (TCO)· 2017–2018· City
Households applied123households
Monitored test households~20households
2 sources
Colmar, Grand Est, France
OngoingColmar Agglomération· since 2014· Region
Hens distributed (2025 edition)840hens
Households served (2025 edition)420households
€25·Colmar Agglomération and its member communes (local household-waste prevention plan); ADEME subsidises the communication component· 5 sources