THE BLOG

Les Alchimistes establishes an agency in Nice to transform bio-waste into a resource to regenerate soils

Present on the French Riviera for several years, Les Alchimistes have taken a new step by officially opening their Nice agency in October 2025.

Located at the Innovation Hub of the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis, this local branch embodies the network’s ambition: structuring bio-waste recovery loops at the territorial level.

An approach that is at once environmental, social, and local.

Interview with Patrick Ouriaghli, Head of Development at Les Alchimistes Côte d’Azur.

Can you introduce Les Alchimistes and their mission?

Les Alchimistes was founded in 2016 in Paris, with a simple idea: restoring value to food waste by transforming it into high-quality compost designed to nourish agricultural soils. The project is built on a strong conviction: bio-waste is not waste like any other, but an essential resource for soil fertility and the ecological transition.

Very quickly, this approach resonated across many regions. Local initiatives developed throughout France, giving rise to a structured network while remaining strongly locally anchored (26 urban areas). Today, Les Alchimistes represents a national network of nearly 300 employees, united around a shared mission: collecting bio-waste, composting it, and feeding the soils.

What distinguishes Les Alchimistes Côte d’Azur?

Les Alchimistes Côte d’Azur is an independent local organization dedicated to the Var and Alpes-Maritimes departments. Historically established in the Var, we have already been operating on the French Riviera for several years, with a gradual scaling-up of activity.

The official opening of the Nice agency in October 2025 marks a structuring milestone. It formalizes an operational presence already well established in the region and addresses a clear need: today, the Alpes-Maritimes generates 100,000 tonnes of food waste per year, notably due to the importance of the restaurant, hospitality, tourism, and institutional catering sectors.

Having a team and a local foothold in Nice was essential to sustainably support these stakeholders.

The Côte d’Azur waste basin defined by the State brings together the Alpes-Maritimes and Eastern Var; this is why we have an office in Nice working closely with our bio-waste recovery center in Puget-sur-Argens. At the same time, we are developing an industrial site within the Metropolis area, which we will unveil soon!

Who is your solution designed for in practical terms?

We work exclusively with food bio-waste, primarily serving professionals: restaurants, hotels, institutional catering facilities, hospitals, schools, companies, ports, and tourist sites.

Today, Les Alchimistes Côte d’Azur supports 600 professional clients and local authorities across the region. This ranges from small committed restaurants, collected by bicycle in city centers, to large flagship sites such as emblematic hotels, schools, healthcare facilities, and major institutional catering operators.

Since the bio-waste separation-at-source requirement came into force in 2024, demand has accelerated significantly. Beyond regulatory compliance, a large share of our clients are engaged voluntarily, often linked to CSR commitments or environmental certifications.

How does your collection and composting model work?

We provide dedicated, sealed containers adapted to professional hygiene requirements. The containers are collected regularly by our teams, exchanged, cleaned, and put back into circulation. The client has nothing to manage: the solution is turnkey.

The bio-waste is then transported to our platforms, where it undergoes systematic manual secondary sorting. This stage is decisive for ensuring the absence of unwanted inputs and producing very high-quality compost.

Composting is carried out according to standardized, sanitized, and controlled processes. The volumes processed represent 3,500 tonnes of bio-waste collected each year, transformed into compost compliant with organic farming standards and offering high agronomic value.

What is your economic model?

Our economic model primarily relies on the service of bio-waste collection and processing. This activity constitutes the core of our revenue.

Compost sales currently represent a marginal share of our income. Compost is a product with strong environmental and agronomic value, but still under-valued economically. Our priority remains first and foremost product quality and its impact on soils.

In the medium and long term, we are convinced that this value will be increasingly recognized, particularly in a context of rising fertilizer costs and the search for more resilient agricultural solutions.

What impact do you have on employment and the region?

Les Alchimistes Côte d’Azur currently employs 35 people, a workforce set to grow with business development. Collection and composting are hands-on, demanding, yet highly meaningful professions.

We hold the ESUS label (Socially Responsible Solidarity Enterprise) and place strong emphasis on professional inclusion. We collaborate with integration organizations and adapted enterprises to create local, sustainable, and accessible jobs.

Our impact is environmental, social, and territorial: reducing incinerated waste, returning organic matter to soils, carbon storage, and supporting more resilient local agriculture.

What happens to the compost produced?

The compost is currently used predominantly by winegrowers and market gardeners, mainly in organic farming, particularly in the Var where agricultural land is more extensive.

It is also the subject of research programs conducted with ADEME, chambers of agriculture, and wine industry associations to measure its effects on soil fertility, water retention, and resilience to climate change.

Ultimately, our ambition is to develop a composting platform in the Alpes-Maritimes to further strengthen the local loop between cities, bio-waste, and agricultural soils.

Why did you choose Nice and the Innovation Hub?

Nice is a strategic choice. The region benefits from a dynamic ecosystem driven by the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis and a network of stakeholders committed to ecological transition.

Establishing ourselves at the Innovation Hub in October 2025 provides a visible foothold, a meeting place, and direct access to the local economic, institutional, and entrepreneurial ecosystem. It is an important lever for structuring partnerships and fostering territorial-scale solutions.

What role does Team Nice Côte d’Azur play in your development?

Our collaboration with Team Nice Côte d’Azur follows a very natural logic. Their role is to help us gain visibility, connect with the right stakeholders, and promote our approach to companies, institutions, and regional decision-makers.

Les Alchimistes is not simply a waste management actor. We carry a territorial project with environmental, economic, and social impacts. Team Nice Côte d’Azur helps highlight this broader dimension.

What are the next steps for Les Alchimistes Côte d’Azur?

The priority is twofold. On one hand, continuing to support a growing number of establishments in implementing bio-waste sorting. On the other hand, securing land in the Alpes-Maritimes to develop a local recovery platform.

The objective is clear: within the next two to three years, operate a composting site in the department, increase processed volumes, create new jobs, and further reinforce the local loop between cities, bio-waste, and agricultural soils.

A message for Côte d’Azur-based professionals?

Sorting bio-waste is both a regulatory obligation and an economic opportunity.

By optimizing waste management, establishments can reduce collection costs while complying with legislation.

With Les Alchimistes, sorting becomes a simple, local, and efficient solution that generates savings while delivering tangible benefits for the region and the environment.

Website: https://alchimistes.co/