Eco-participation, a tool for financing the second life of products
Whether you buy your furniture in a store, from a catalog or from online sales sites, you've probably noticed an "eco-participation" on your invoice or receipt. It applies in particular to construction products and materials, DIY and garden items and toys. Ecomaison tells you more about eco-participation - also known as eco-contribution - its purpose and how it is calculated.
What is eco-participation or eco-contribution?
A mandatory contribution paid to eco-organizations
Companies distributing or importing new products onto the French market are required by law to finance the end-of-life of their products. To meet this obligation, manufacturers and distributors subject to these regulations can join an eco-organization, in which case they pay an eco-participation fee for each product sold. Eco-participation is not a tax: it is not paid to the State. It is a contribution paid to the eco-organizations by the member distributor and/or manufacturer.
An essential tool for financing the second life of products
Thanks to this contribution, we organize the collection of household products and materials throughout France. Whether you want to donate or throw them away, you can go to our partner associations and social economy players, to distributors, to one of our 6,700 partner collection points or to public waste collection centers. Properly sorted, we give them a second life through repair, reuse or recycling.
What does eco-tax finance?
We make no profit from eco-taxes! The sums we collect are used entirely to finance reuse, collection, transport, recycling and innovation-related expenses.
On average, for every €1 of eco-tax paid :
- 75 cents finance recycling,
- 18 centimes support collection partners, local authorities and associations,
- 4 centimes cover operating costs,
- 3 cents are dedicated to innovation.
How does eco-tax work?
When you buy new household equipment, part of the sale price is used to finance the eco-tax.
For furniture and bedding, the eco-participation is indicated in the selling price and displayed separately at the time of purchase. For games and toys, DIY and garden equipment, and construction products and materials, eco-tax is included in the selling price, but not necessarily displayed. Depending on the case, it may be indicated on the invoice.
The distributor and/or manufacturer is then responsible for declaring the contribution collected and paying it to the eco-organization.
Prices calculated according to product and recycling cost
The eco-participation fee is set by the eco-organization concerned, which establishes a scale. It sets the amount by calculating the overall cost of taking charge of the product, according to different characteristics. A mattress, a large sofa, a small stool or a stuffed toy are not recycled in the same way.
The eco-participation scale is calculated according to :
- the nature of the object,
- its weight,
- its size and volume,
- and its materials