France/Territorial economy: when the reuse market becomes your greatest ally
More local jobs and more activity, less waste and less pollution: faced with the challenges of the ecological transition and the need to relocalize the economy, reuse can be a lever of economic dynamism for territories. By extending the life of objects and materials, it reduces their environmental footprint while creating skilled jobs. A genuine local economic tool, it promotes social integration, strengthens social cohesion and meets the needs of local residents. For local authorities and economic players alike, the time has come to make it a priority and support its expansion.
A sports equipment rental company wants to get rid of its worn-out pairs of skis at the end of the season. A local authority wants to renew its IT equipment. A craftsman wants to change his electrical equipment. How do they do it? For a long time, the reflex has been to throw away objects no longer needed. But this reflex wastes resources and increases the volume of waste to be processed, even though these objects are still in working order after repair or refurbishment. Re-using an object, material or piece of equipment therefore means extending its lifespan by re-using it as it is, with or without repair. The advantage: their value in use is maintained.
Long seen as a marginal or militant practice, reuse today meets consumers' expectations in terms of responsible consumption. It is also in line with the spirit of sobriety and waste reduction of the Anti-Waste for a Circular Economy (AGEC) law, enacted in February 2020. Reuse is integrated into the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) channels, via the financing of reuse and repair actions.
Dynamic local players
The reuse sector has given rise to a whole typology of new players: In France, over seven hundred of them are involved in the reuse of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), sports and leisure goods (ASL), and DIY and garden items (ABJ). Established in local areas, they can be real economic boosters. Indeed, they have one thing in common: they create business that cannot be relocated and generate local employment, while accelerating the ecological transition of local areas. According to Ademe, reuse could create 10 to 30 times more jobs than conventional waste processing.
But the activities of those involved in reuse are not always optimized, and the sector still suffers from a lack of professionalization. To increase efficiency and improve coordination with local authorities, structures are grouping together in regional association networks, which can benefit from financial support from eco-organizations. In Normandy, for example, the Collectif des ressourceries et acteurs du réemploi (CRAR Normandie), a member of the Réseau national des ressourceries recycleries, is a consortium of 34 members, including ressourceries, recycleries, solidarity reuse players and local authorities. Together, they form local partnerships to recover and recondition end-of-life EEE.
Communicating the benefits of reuse
To promote the advantages of reuse, distributors and retailers of equipment in good condition can rely on the national platform www.e-reemploi.eco. This platform puts them in touch with donors, companies, local authorities and associations. It has a number of advantages: it's free of charge, and promotes reuse through associations. It promotes regional networks and supports experimental projects at local level. The emphasis is on proximity, to avoid the need to move waste for re-use.
Those involved in reuse can also apply to the Fonds Réemploi (reuse funds) set up to support the development of the EEE, ABJ and ASL sectors. In concrete terms, these funds, provided for under the AGEC law, are designed to finance reuse projects and stimulate innovation. Their objectives are manifold: to improve product refurbishment capacity, to strengthen skills, professionalization and attractiveness of sales outlets...
In 2023, according to the latest available figures, over 2.4 million items from the EEE, ABJ and ASL sectors were reused. Reuse is no longer a makeshift economy, but an industry of the future, serving a local economy that is more sober, more supportive and more resilient. By making the most of existing resources, creating local jobs and meeting essential social needs, it meets the needs of local economies.
It is therefore in the best interest of local authorities to bet on reuse, as a concrete lever for relocating the economy, creating local added value and building an ecological transition that creates jobs and social ties.
Source: solutions.lesechos.fr/
