On the way to recovering 100% of used furniture!

More economical and more ecological, the new operating scheme is optimized on a national scale, while promoting the development of recycling and recovery solutions in the local area. The result is more processing sites, but less transport, thanks to greater synergies. Thanks to 2 to 6-year contracts, operators now have greater visibility over the flow of materials to be recycled, enabling them to invest in further innovation and modernization of their sites. Louis-Paul Laclaire, Director of Operations and Systems, explains.

The new operating scheme has been in place since January^1, 2020. What has changed?

Before, collections and sorting were organized by department. We didn't have a global vision. We therefore sought to optimize collection by breaking down departmental boundaries and prioritizing collection by nearby sites, except for the preparation of the various materials (plastic, wood, foam, etc.). We have more processing sites, with local activity and jobs, and much less transport. It's more responsible, more economical, more ecological - in short, more efficient. In practice, there are now 170 logistics sites throughout France, receiving Eco-mobilier skips from 5,000 drop-off centers and other collection points. These logistics sites sort and consolidate this waste, then send it to the sites that prepare it for recycling. Today, there are 50 sites for wood, 7 for mattresses, 3 for plastics, 15 for mixed used furniture and 19 for combustible material (CSR). Thanks to this new scheme, the average distance between collection points and sorting centers has fallen by 25%, from 42 to 31 km. And the average distance between sorting centers and preparation sites has been halved, from 143 km to 70 km.

How did you manage to optimize the layout?

We used a modeling tool and a customized algorithm to analyze the operators' offers. With all parameters in the same calculation: all flows, all departments, all collection points, etc. The aim was to achieve overall savings, irrespective of the unit prices of the operations, while complying with ecological, regulatory and technical constraints. To achieve this, we had to study over a hundred scenarios and determine their impact on the overall scheme, before making a choice.

And what has changed for operators?

To do this, we need to go back to the calls for tender and the way we divided up the contracts. Basically, we always have several lots: a logistics lot for the skips, their collection and sorting, a waste reception lot for the professional drop-off centers and a preparation lot for each stream: wood, plastic, bedding, etc. Until 2019, there was a contract for each batch. Today, we have grouped them under a single contract. Synergies have therefore been created, resulting in more sites doing both logistics and preparation, which has enabled us to save transport stages. The second major innovation is the creation of two types of contract, with different durations and levels of commitment for preparation contracts. In the first, called "Flexibility", the contract lasts 2 years, the operator commits to a firm price and works with selected outlets, guaranteeing us recycling or recovery performance. In the other, called "Visibility", the operator commits to guaranteed outlets. To enable them to make the necessary investments, we commit to them over 4 to 6 years, with prices that can be revised. In return, we ask for guarantees on the commitment of the outfalls. This shift in the tripartite relationship between outfitters, preparers and Eco-mobilier is unprecedented. To encourage this synergy, we launched a survey of outfitters in advance, and sent the list to all applicants.

As an eco-organization, we have a duty to create the best possible conditions for operators to invest in industrial facilities, enabling them to process materials in France and achieve high recovery rates.

Reconciling innovation, new services and fairness is the triple objective of the new service contract for 2020-2023. On the menu: fairer eco-participation rates, new services, more collection solutions and "eco-participation credits" to reward members' commitment. Eric Weisman Morel, Director of Development, explains these new features.

The 2020 service contract for members includes a new eco-participation scale implemented on January^1, 2020. How are these new rates simpler and fairer?

Because they always take into account the weight or size of the products, and also incorporate the notion of materials and their greater or lesser recyclability. Products made of wood and wood derivatives, which are easier to recycle, have a lower price than products made of plastic or complex materials. Other examples: seat prices are now based on weight and the presence or absence of upholstered elements; bedding prices now take mattress thickness into account. These tariffs, validated by our Board of Directors on April 4, 2019, were circulated to all companies in April to recodify and update commercial documents. They were also the subject of a face-to-face presentation to around a hundred large companies or franchise networks. Our members were then able to prepare themselves, in just a few months, to be ready for January^1, 2020. A delicate task, which I'd like to pay particular tribute to.

> Find out more about the 2020 service contract

Beyond the new rates, what does the new service contract change for members?

The first novelty is that this is a single contract, which now covers both regulatory compliance and operational services, such as collections, events, communication tools, market data, etc. Before, there was practically one contract per service. Before, there was practically one contract per service. Today, when our members sign this new contract, they choose their services and can add or withdraw them whenever they like. The second new feature is the authenticated electronic signature.

Two new services have been added: recycling credits and bedding take-back. The former rewards members who incorporate recycled raw materials from old furniture into their new furniture. Priority is given to the incorporation of recycled wood.

As for bedding, we'll be distributing take-back bags to members, with information for customers on our recycling commitment. Members who play the game will be rewarded with eco-participation credits for every mattress they take back in a bag. As a result, these mattresses will gradually be taken out of landfill sites and will be better preserved, making them easier to recycle. That's our challenge.

With all this range, won't we have to move on from the current Extranet to a more muscular portal?

It's on our tablets for 2020. We have launched a design project for a service "portal", which will bring together all these functions. More ergonomic, faster, it will give access to additional data, such as the collection figures box, in the same spirit as the market's figures box.

In 2019, Eco-mobilier has also renewed its support for eco-design projects. Which projects stood out?

Domocité, the French industrial laboratory for the home of tomorrow, asked us to work with designer Didier Epain, who was working on a sustainable housing project in the mountains. Interior/exterior furniture in steel and solid wood, multi-purpose and multi-functional, to save materials.

The Trophées Maisons du Monde de la Création Durable, of which we are partners for the third time, rewarded 3 student designers this year. Romain Lafiteau, for his Coloc&Cie shelving unit combining 3 occasional seats and a shelf, ideal for small spaces and 100% recyclable. Charles Saade for his Twin stool that splits into two, also 100% recyclable and clever. And Manon Levasseur, for her modular coffee table made from steel and sawmill wood scraps.

Discover the daily life of Béatrice Caldas, bathroom sales advisor at Leroy Merlin : 

To better support local authorities and achieve the ZERO waste objective, we have worked with them to draw up a new contract for the 2019-2023 period. Xavier Rebardy, Director of Regulatory and Legal Affairs, takes a look at the latest developments.

The new contract, drawn up in consultation with local authorities, is based on detailed knowledge of what happens at the waste collection centers. Could you tell us more?

To find out how best to support communities and help them ensure that skips are better filled, we launched an extensive field study, which was completed in June 2019. One of the economic and environmental keys to Eco-mobilier's performance is the proper filling of collection skips. For the record, our objective is to achieve a minimum fill of 2.3 tonnes, on average. Some collections did not reach this threshold: we had to understand why. The aim of the study was to visit around 1,000 public waste collection centers whose skips were only slightly full (less than 1.9 tonnes). The findings are applicable to the whole country. These include the need for better support for staff, particularly through training, more efficient skip removal and the introduction of an incentive-based financial support scheme to encourage good waste collection practices. These findings fed into discussions with representatives of local authorities, to finalize the new contract.

What's new in the new contract?

It takes into account the conclusions of this study, with accompanying measures and advice on how to fill skips more effectively. These tips are simple to be effective: eliminate obstacles to correct filling, ensure that sorting instructions are respected, have skips removed at the right time... For example, we have committed to improving signage, distributing sorting instruction sheets to waste collection center staff, and replacing certain skips that are difficult to fill. We have also enlisted the help of our Regional Managers, who work with local authorities on a daily basis, explaining the new contract to them. 610 local authorities, covering 96% of the population, have signed up. Regarding the incentive scale, it has not been possible to finalize consultations with local authority representatives in 2019. In the meantime, it remains set at €20/tonne, regardless of how full the skips are. Consultations are due to resume in 2020.

To speed things up, you've opted for an electronic signature, which has now been extended to all your contracts. How does it work? 

Each person legally authorized to sign a contract receives an e-mail in their personal mailbox. All they have to do is click on it and accept the signature, which is then authenticated. The same applies to our members' and operators' contracts. This electronic signature system required considerable work on the part of our teams, as it had to be integrated into both our information systems. For both local authorities and operators, who previously signed by hand, the advantage is above all simplicity and time savings. For our members, it has made signing on our Extranet even more secure. The system was implemented via Yousign, a secure, easy-to-use, legal electronic signature solution for all documents.

Whether it's eco-design, new materials or new outlets, we've not only multiplied our innovation initiatives but also innovated in our approaches in 2019. With an open innovation program, Eco-mobilier - (RE)SET Furniture, to accelerate the circular economy and bring out innovative solutions. As well as a vast study designed to consider furniture waste wood as a combustible resource, with analyses and tests to back it up. Projects on foam recycling, selected in 2017, have also made great strides. Some of them should bear fruit by 2021. An update from Fabien Cambon, Technical and Innovation Director.

As its name suggests, (RE)SET resets the eco-design meter to zero. What makes this program so different?

Because it's an open innovation program, in other words, a new way of thinking about innovation. Instead of putting out a call for projects in all directions, and then waiting for what comes back, we're going to look for the innovations we need on a given theme. To define these needs, we consulted furniture manufacturers and retailers: what are their requirements for better, more "circular" manufacturing? We then commissioned The (RE)SET company, which specializes in the circular economy and open innovation. They then "criss-crossed the planet", like "gold diggers", and explored thousands of data points to capture around twenty innovations, sometimes still at the concept or start-up stage. Disruptive projects that we're not used to seeing come up through traditional channels, and which we shared during an "innovation day" on January 28, 2020.

The aim of this program is to bring together interested members and sourced innovative companies, in order to design projects between now and the end of 2020. Among them is a project to manufacture particleboard without releasing Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) into the atmosphere, which is of great interest to a large majority of our furniture manufacturers, as they see it as a real opportunity to offer products that are much more respectful of the environment. On another front, (RE)SET is also enabling us to work on the development of a sewing thread that "melts" at a certain temperature, enabling the various layers making up mattress covers to be separated. This optimizes the recycling of these products when they become waste. These projects also have a universal dimension, likely to be of interest to all marketers. This further strengthens the role we can play in innovation and eco-design for our members.

What's the status of the Eco-innovation Challenge, the first European R&D call for projects launched in 2017 by Eco-mobilier to develop the recycling of used mattresses, comforters and pillows?

Projects are currently being rolled out, some of which should bear fruit in 2020 or even 2021. These include the "Newmat" project, which manufactures new mattresses from recycled polyurethane foam. Or the CITP project, which manufactures insulation from recycled polyurethane foam flakes.

Other projects take longer to develop and are therefore more long-term in nature. A case in point is the "Feather and Fiber" project by Fourment, a company specializing in the stuffing of comforters and pillows. The aim? To identify solutions for recycling feathers and fibers from the used comforters and pillows we've been collecting since 2018.

You're also working on new outlets for wood from used furniture. Why are you doing this?

In 2019, we had to export 36% of the wood we collected because our country did not have the capacity to recycle or recover it. French particleboard manufacturers, the main outlet for wood recycling, are reaching the limits of their capacity to integrate recycled wood, and wood waste recovery in the form of fuel is almost non-existent. At a time when public authorities are encouraging local authorities and industry to use biomass as a source of heat, waste wood has a role to play. Provided that France accepts to consider it as a real resource to produce energy.

With this in mind, we have launched a study into specific protocols for preparing wood from used furniture for use in biomass boilers. This wood can then be used to produce heat for hot water or residential heating networks, or industrial heat for the production of manufactured goods. 260 analyses and 2 full-scale combustion tests in boilers were carried out in 2019, under the guidance of the French Ministry of Ecological Transition and Solidarity and its technical center, the Institut national de l'environnement industriel et des risques (INERIS).

In 2020, we'll be continuing with this major project, which is taking us a long time to convince people of the merits of our approach and the economic relevance of the model we're proposing.

Because the best waste is still the waste we don't produce, we have invested with players in the social and solidarity economy (SSE) to increase the reuse of used furniture. In 2019, this approach took the form of a call for projects, the 10 winners of which were unveiled on June 25. Here's a look back at this first-of-its-kind operation.

To give furniture a second or even third life, the products must be of high quality, the employees must be skilled at transforming them and the furniture must be easy to repair. To meet these 3 challenges, we launched a call for projects to SSE players in September 2018. Nearly 70 candidates responded, with 10 projects selected. We wanted this selectivity in order to be able to support all the winners with expertise and financial resources commensurate with the ambition.

Some of these projects are aimed at training employees or acquiring new skills. Others aim to set up material libraries, so that products that can't be given a second life can still be used to make new furniture using their materials. Others, finally, involve taking eco-design a step further, with small production runs of eco-designed furniture that will both interest new customers and enhance the value of those who make them.

And the winners are ...

In the Eco-designed furniture range category:

La Collecterie, a recycling center in Montreuil (93), is looking to hire a carpenter with expertise in eco-conception and eco-design.

The AIRE association and its Trésor recycling center in Die (26), which wants to integrate a creative, entrepreneurial carpenter into its team.

The Gammes association, based in Montpellier (34), wants to launch a new range of furniture and small objects made from eco-sourced materials, in particular quality woods from old furniture.

Croix-Rouge Insertion, Valoris in Poitiers (86), and le Maillon Normand in Pavilly (76), who open their workshops to individuals and students to manufacture a new range with designers and thus become local references inupcycling.

L'Atelier Emmaüs, in Lyon (69), which aims to create a range of decorative objects and furniture designed by professional designers and manufactured entirely in its workshop-schools.

In the Second-hand materials store category :

La Matière, an association based in La Rochelle (17), wants to expand its store of recycled materials, including a lot of beautiful wood, and invest in new equipment to change scale.

AFEJI / ECO DéKo, a recycling center in Petite-Synthe (59), which wants to develop its processes for dismantling and reusing materials to create more fashionable furniture for stores and restaurants.

In the Skills Development category :

ELAN Jouques, a social integration company in Jouques (13), which will train 10 employees on its premises, with a diploma to follow, to be able to offer better quality services.

L'ATELIER D'éco SOLIDAIRE, a creative recycling center in Bordeaux (33), is aiming to become a training center in New Aquitaine by offering the "Tapestry" Certificate of Professional Qualification (CQP) designed by Eco-mobilier and the Union Nationale de l'Artisanat des Métiers de l'Ameublement (UNAMA).

Emmaüs Défi, a social innovation laboratory based in Paris (75), is planning to train the employees of its ReCréateurs carpentry workshop in the reuse of wood materials, a training program created by Eco-mobilier and UNAMA and already implemented in other social economy structures. The employees will then obtain a CQP in "Intervenant en Revalorisation de Mobilier et Agencement".

From laughter to tears, from practical advice to educational information and questions, we pulled out all the stops to get to know the French and inspire them to action. And we did this through a multitude of channels: our website, social networks, in-store events. Studies have also been carried out to find out more about the French's relationship with their furniture and the eco-tax. The aim? To inform them, raise their awareness and provide them with solutions tailored to their needs, at the right time and in the right place.

French people's opinion of their furniture and eco-taxes

100% reuse / recycling / recovery: that's the goal we're aiming for... And to achieve it, we need to get the French on board! To better understand their expectations and the means to implement them, we went out to meet them. With a BVA study, published in 2019, to better understand how they buy and get rid of their furniture. But also how they relate to it.

Download the BVA study

The same goes for eco-participation, with a study conducted by Harris Interactive. It shows that 8 out of 10 French people are now familiar with eco-participation, and that 9 out of 10 know what it's for, consider it legitimate and are in favor of its regulation.

On the web and social networks

To raise awareness among the French, we organized a major campaign on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn at the end of 2019, to coincide with European Waste Reduction Week (EWWR) and SSE Month. With articles and videos on the life cycle of furniture, all the solutions to give them a new life, as well as the map to find the nearest collection points.

This awareness campaign was the culmination of a series of digital mini-campaigns throughout the year.

Nearly 4 million people were made aware of Eco-mobilier's missions via Facebook and Instagram.

The virtual world takes center stage during European Sustainable Development Week

As we do every year for the European Week for Sustainable Development, we joined forces with DIY and furniture retailers to provide a fun way to discover what happens to furniture, from May 30 to June 5, 2019. Equipped with a virtual reality headset, thousands of customers were able to enjoy an immersive experience, guided by our animators. Over 170 Conforama, Maisons du Monde, Leroy Merlin, Mr Bricolage and Bricorama stores took part in the operation.

A collective campaign to keep recycling

For the second year running, the French Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition, ADEME and 13 eco-organizations, of which we were one, have organized a major national campaign in autumn 2019 to inform and raise awareness of recycling among the French. A campaign that uses humor and emotion, while thanking those who mobilize every day to preserve our planet, whether professionals or citizens. The 2018 TV spot "Ensemble, continuons de recycler" (Together, let's keep on recycling) has been joined by new features to target overseas territories and young people. A new audiovisual campaign was broadcast in Guadeloupe and Martinique on the web and social networks. As for Millenials, they were mobilized on social networks with "upcycled" videos of popular personalities: international footballer Blaise Matuidi, Big Flo & Oli,comedian Inès Reg and youtuber Cyprien. Podcasts, videos, quizzes and stories on recycling were also broadcast, in partnership with Konbini media and well-known Youtubers.

As we do every year, to make life easier for French people wishing to get rid of their old furniture, we have joined forces with the commercial operations of voluntary retailers. At the same time, we're experimenting with new approaches, with a local collection scheme for comforters and pillows in Bordeaux.

Takeover operations with Ikea, Grand Litier and Le Géant du Meuble

Once again this year, Ikea offered our event-based collection service for bedding accessories. For three weekends, customers could bring back to the store not only their comforters and pillows, but also their cushions, mattress toppers, sleeping bags, bolsters and even their pets' cushions, to be recycled or recovered.

Same thing at Grand Litier, in March 2019, but to get rid of old mattresses. Products that we can, for example, recycle into tatami mats or recover in the form of energy.

Le Géant du Meuble, for its part, has teamed up with players in the social economy (SSE). With one piece of furniture taken back for every new item ordered and delivered. Old furniture that has been given a new lease of life, or recycled or recycled when it can't be reused.

Yoyo tests a new kind of local waste collection service in Bordeaux

In partnership with Yoyo, a positive ecology player in Bordeaux, we tested an original collection operation for comforters and pillows for 6 months. With an online platform to sign up, relay stores equipped with collection bags for old comforters and pillows, and rewards for Bordeaux residents who agreed to play along.

More than a dozen of the city's retailers took part in the test, in addition to Atelier D'éco Solidaire, an emblematic figure in Bordeaux's circular economy, including Auchan, Grand Litier and Serendipity, a responsible gift and craft store in the city center. They have all committed to training sorters in the instructions, then collecting and storing the full bags so that we can come and collect them and recycle them.