Where to empty your motorhome in France: grey water, black water and the toilet cassette

Grey water, black water: what is the difference?

French official texts call grey water “eaux ménagères” (household waste water) and toilet waste “eaux-vannes”. Both are emptied in the same place: a motorhome service point or waste disposal platform, with a drain grid in the ground for grey water and a disposal point for the cassette.

Where to empty: the three options

• A motorhome service area (aire de services). Often provided by the local council, sometimes at a motorway services or a petrol station. You will find a grid for grey water, a disposal point for the cassette and a drinking water tap. Some are free, others charge, by token, card or coins.
• A campsite. Most have a disposal point. In France, the model site rules for campsites even require guests to empty their waste water “in the facilities provided for that purpose”. Some campsites open their service point to passing motorhomes, with or without a charge: ask at reception.
• A motorhome aire at the entrance to a campsite. Several campsites have an aire outside the gates, which you can use without staying the night.

On Campernest, the Motorhome service point filter keeps only the campsites that list one, and each listing shows the nearest motorhome aire. If the information is wrong or missing, report it on the listing: the next Nester who passes through will thank you.

What is banned in France, and what it costs

Emptying your grey water or your cassette anywhere other than a facility provided for it means discharging “unhealthy liquids” in a public or private place, under French law:

• Article R634-2 of the French Penal Code (Code pénal): a 4th-class offence, meaning a €135 fixed penalty.
• Article R635-8: when the waste has been transported in a vehicle, it becomes a 5th-class offence, with a fine of up to €1,500.
• Departmental public health regulations (règlements sanitaires départementaux) come on top: the one for Paris, for example, bans any discharge of waste water onto the public highway. The model campsite rules spell it out: “It is forbidden to throw waste water on the ground or into the gutters.”

A street drain or a gutter is not a disposal point: rainwater often flows straight into the river, without going through a sewage treatment works.

Emptying cleanly, step by step

1. Position the motorhome with its wheels over the grid, the grey water valve as close to it as possible.
2. Put on disposable gloves. Open the grey water valve and let it drain completely.
3. Take the cassette out through its outside hatch, open the spout over the disposal point, then press the air release button so it flows without splashing.
4. Rinse the cassette with the tap provided for chemical toilets, never with the drinking water tap.
5. Add a dose of toilet chemical with a little water, then rinse the grid and the area around it for the next person.
6. Fill up with fresh water at the drinking water tap, using your own hose kept only for that.

How long between two emptyings?

It depends on the capacity of the tanks, given in the handbook, the number of people on board and the showers taken in the vehicle. Note how many days you last on your first trip, then get into the habit of emptying whenever you pass a service point, rather than waiting for the red warning light on a Sunday evening miles from anywhere.