The new year begins on a positive note in Lapouyade where as of October 60 or so full time jobs will be offered in tomato growing. Two farming greenhouses will be built over 8 hectares in direct proximity to Veolia’s landfill end waste site, which is where the heat needed to grow the fruits will come from.
Administrative constraints have slightly delayed the project since it was signed in 2013. The construction permit was validated at the end of the year and works will begin over the next few weeks, which is a relief for the project’s public and private partners.
“Les Paysans de Rougeline and Veolia were by our sides so that this project would succeed” insists Hélène Estrade, Mayor of Lapouyade and initiator of the idea back in 2012. She says that they wanted to make the landfill waste site “an asset, not a fatality.”
Both Les Paysans de Rougeline and Veolia supported the project, despite their differences and their very different activities (agriculture and industry), they both had a shared economical interest.
“We will produce 6,000 tons per year in these eco-greenhouses, in a closed environment with no chemical interventions”, says Gilles Bertrandias, Director of Rougeline. He says that with a 30 to 40% decrease in cost, they will able to stand up to European competition. The site’s proximity to Veolia, who is developing their heating network for an investment of about €5 million, gives the project a certain security.
For Alexander Mallinson, South West Regional Director at Veolia, “the project brings real virtues. It is exemplary in terms of circular economy, sustainable development and cooperation between partners.”
Construction should be finished in the summer, allowing the first 30 or so employees to begin in September. The plants will arrive in the greenhouses in November for a first harvest expected in February.