Town hands out chickens to cut waste

A town in the Alpes-Maritimes is giving two chickens to 20 households in order to cut down on organic waste.

As well as reducing the amount of bio-waste heading to landfill, the chickens will help families save money by providing eggs, officials in the town of Vence, between Nice and Antibes, say.

"The chickens are omnivorous. They eat almost all our kitchen waste, from oyster shells to ham fat," said Laurence Thiebaut, president of the Vence Initiative Environnement (VIE), which is funded by the Fondation de France.

The birds will be distributed to families, who have paid €20 towards the scheme. In return, they will receive two chickens and a coop at the end of the month.

VIE also offers 'repair cafes', composting workshops and picks up to help reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfill.