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In 2021, Eco-mobilier has decided to apply for three new recycling channels created by the AGEC law, the anti-waste law for a circular economy. With the historic furniture sector, also impacted by these new regulations, multiple projects have been carried out to guarantee regulatory compliance and bring ever more services to members.

Building on its ten years' solid experience in furniture recycling, the eco-organization has pulled out all the stops, planning to apply for three new channels launched by the AGEC law, the anti-waste law for a circular economy. Eco-mobilier has thus positioned itself as the only multi-sector, multi-material eco-organization for the home. The law also introduces new obligations for furniture professionals to encourage greater re-use and recycling, and to tighten controls on offenders.

To help its members comply with the new obligations of the AGEC law, Eco-mobilier has set up solutions for marketers in the waste furniture elements (WEEE) sector. The aim is to enable them to be ready by January^1, 2022.

• On this date, free take-back becomes mandatory for all furniture stores. This obligation varies according to the size of the store, whether physical or digital. So that everyone can find their way around and understand their precise obligations, a self-diagnosis tool has been created, and a number of full-scale experiments have been carried out to fine-tune the new system. As a result, each distributor now has an in-store or on-delivery take-back solution to offer its customers.

• The law also prohibits the disposal of unsold non-food items, in order to reduce waste and promote the circular economy. Here too, Eco-mobilier offers an innovative solution: a donation platform in partnership with social economy players.
• Last but not least, new labelling obligations have come into force: the Triman, with new sorting instructions to be displayed on packaging and products, and the unique identification number, which must be included on GSCs (general terms and conditions of sale) and all contractual documents. This unique identification number, issued by ADEME (the French Environment and Energy Management Agency), is proof that the marketer is fulfilling its extended producer responsibility obligations. It makes it possible to check who is complying with the law and paying their eco-tax, and who is not.

These offenders who don't pay their eco-participation are free riders, "stowaways" who benefit from the recycling of their end-of-life furniture without contributing to it. In 2021, Eco-mobilier has stepped up its "free rider hunt". " We've beefed up our actions," stresses Xavier Rebardy, Director of Regulatory and Legal Affairs. " We've reinforced our usual reminder procedure with letters from lawyers. As a result, we ' ve been able to get some pretty significant results in terms of foreign, as well as French, structures signing up. Eric Weisman Morel, Director of Development, gives the figures : "We have 815 companies considered as free riders who have signed up. This has enabled us to recover 7.6 million euros in eco-tax". But the most effective tool deployed in 2021 to identify them is a digital tracking process. " We have set up a robot that visits seven marketplaces every month and scans the products. It locates the companies that put them up for sale, and we check whether these companies are members or not. " Some actions have even led to litigation for distortion of competition: " We won against one of the players ", explains Xavier Rebardy, " which means we now have a body of case law that we'll be adding to as we go along ".

These free riders are often third-party sellers from marketplaces. The AGEC law makes sales platforms more accountable by requiring them to monitor them. They are obliged to contribute to EPR for their own products, but also for those of their third-party sellers, if they are not in compliance.

An essential measure to restore fairness to the market.

Becoming the eco-organization for the home has meant a marathon to apply for two new sectors (games and toys, DIY and garden products) and to prepare for the construction waste sector: games and toys, DIY and garden products and construction. " For the DIY and garden products and games and toys sectors, this was a cross-functional project involving all stakeholders. The aim was to get this new sector up and running in record time," explains Matthieu Goutti, head of cross-functional projects and strategic studies. " There was a major awareness-raising phase with companies, to convince them that Eco-mobilier was the ideal candidate to represent their sector. Then we mobilized the companies to collectively build the strategy and organize the sector ". A mini-site dedicated to the new sectors has been created.

This collaborative effort has paid off handsomely, with massive support from toy, DIY and garden industry professionals: " The creation of the DIY and garden sector is an opportunity to amplify the CSR approach initiated by companies in the sector," declared Jean-Luc Guéry, President of INOHA, the trade organization for DIY, gardening and home improvement manufacturers.

"Because they all share the conviction that the ecological and environmental stakes have become vital, and that the principle of extended producer responsibility is a mechanism likely to bring about a change in behavior and make players more responsible, toy and game producers have welcomed the vote on the AGEC law and the creation of the eco-industry," emphasized Florent Leroux, President of the Fédération Française des Industries Jouet Puériculture.

New products, new activities: a great new adventure on the horizon.

Foam, wood, scrap metal, plastics... Eco-mobilier wants to develop genuine recycling channels in France and limit waste exports to other countries. To achieve this, we need to collect more materials at source, innovate to ensure outlets for recycled materials, and encourage manufacturers to adopt more eco-design.

The year 2021 was marked by an exceptional result in terms of collection: +36% of volumes collected in 2021, partly linked to the post-confinement catch-up effect. Operational deployment had to move quickly to keep pace with this increase. 528 new collection points have joined the Eco-mobilier network. New services have been developed, such as bi-flow collection (two separate skips installed in the drop-off center), which enables wood and other materials to be sorted at source.

The teams also worked hard to optimize the new operational plan launched in 2020 following the calls for tender. "We worked with the collection points to ensure that the skips were better filled. The challenge is to ensure that they are full to optimize truck transport to the sorting centers. We've made significant gains in terms of average weight collected, compared with 2020: we've saved the equivalent of 500,000 km," explains Marie-Ève Fermet, Operations Manager.

Attention has also been paid to sorting centers, with an increase in quality controls. " We have checked that each sorting center is pushing its sorting operations to the limit to maximize the fractions that go on to be recycled. There's a double benefit: environmental, because the better we sort, the more recycling we can do, and economic, because it costs less to send a tonne for recycling than for SRF (solid recovered fuel)".

Result: Over 1.4 million euros in savings thanks to cost optimization actions carried out by regional management teams.

"Fabien Cambon, Technical and Innovation Director, explains: "In 2021, there was an acceleration in innovation that enabled us to fine-tune our strategy to prepare for the increased volumes we will have to process and the diversification of recovery and recycling methods.

The partnership initiated in 2020 with American chemist Dow Chemical has come to fruition with the construction in Orléans and industrial commissioning of the world's first chemical recycling unit for foam from used mattresses. "Using the waste foam we supply, we can go back to the molecules that make up polyurethane foam. We can then remanufacture foam blocks with the same characteristics as if they were made from 100% virgin polyols," explains Fabien Cambon. Recycled foams manufactured by ICOA. This new approach will enable Eco-mobilier to increase its polyurethane foam recycling capacity. "We're entering a much stronger circularity logic, since we're demonstrating that polyurethane foam, which until now was a plastic that was very difficult to recycle, is now entering a virtuous loop of recyclability. And the circle has come full circle with the sale by one of our members and shareholders, Camif, of a sofa made from this latest-generation recycled foam.

The wood sector has not been left out, with a call for projects resulting in the selection of sixteen winners for projects involving the recycling of MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) wood, as well as several new recovery technologies. Among them, pyrogasification: a treatment of wood which, by heating it in reactors, produces a synthesis gas, which can then be transformed into methane or hydrogen. " Discussions have been held to sign an agreement with GRT gaz, Syctom de Paris and CITEO to launch a joint platform for project developers in this technology ", announces Cyril Roux, Head of Recycling and Recovery.

Innovation around wood also includes plans to use wood from used furniture (or Déchets d'Eléments d'Ameublement - DEA) as a fuel: this is the aim of experiments, supervised by the DREAL (Direction Régionale de l'Environnement de l'Aménagement et du Logement), which have been carried out with energy companies in their industrial boilers. With encouraging results: " This wood has little impact on smoke emissions, as the DEA wood prepared for this purpose contains few polluting substances ," says Cyril Roux. " Today, wood is positioned in our strategy as a material capable of addressing all modes of recycling and recovery, and tomorrow as a potential substitute for fossil fuels", Fabien Cambon sums up.

And to encourage furniture manufacturers to incorporate recycled wood or foam into their products, the recycling credit has got off to a great start: some twenty registrants for the first half of the year have been able to benefit from this eco-tax credit, which has been paid back to them. The principle has proved very popular: "There's a lot of interest from both furniture manufacturers and particleboard manufacturers in joining the scheme. So it's a safe bet that the number of declarations will increase over the next few years", predicts Cyril Roux.

Closer and simpler thanks to digital technology, Eco-mobilier has made the densification of its network of collection points a key part of its strategy. To meet new take-back and donation obligations, and prepare for the arrival of new recycling channels. This work in the field is accompanied by digital development: the digital space has become a world of services.

Whether through actions in the field or digital tools, Eco-mobilier seeks to bring sorting solutions closer to the French and simplify life for professionals. The aim is to raise consumer awareness of the "sorting" reflex, and to comply with the AGEC law, which increases requirements by introducing mandatory take-back and encouraging reuse.

The Maison du tri program, launched in October 2020, continued during the first quarter in five pilot départements. The parking lots of some fifty Eco-mobilier member retailers, who volunteered to take part in the experiment, hosted local collection points, staffed during the day by Eco-mobilier teams and local solidarity associations.

The results were very positive, with over 11,000 kg collected over 86 days, and 91% of consumers satisfied. In fact, most of them would like to use this new service again soon. The animators' educational communication was also convincing: they inspired almost all visitors to recycle more. Awareness of the operation clearly grew over the 6 months. And more than 8/10 stores praised the operation.

At the same time, Eco-mobilier is seeking to increase the density of its network of collection points: a strategic project in view of the take-back obligation enshrined in the AGEC law. For deliveries, for example, the product to be taken back can be dropped off at a parcel collection point. These new collection points were sourced through a call for applications and contacts with the managers of these sites. Particularly targeted: urban areas, with a focus on commercial and business zones.

Full-scale tests have also been carried out in a number of chains, including online retailers, to help them implement this no-cost take-back. In some cases, the results have been surprisingly positive, even exceeding the requirements of the new law. Setting up signage and dedicated containers, feedback from sales staff, store managers, craftsmen and consumers. The result is a favorable reception for this free service on the part of customers, and a great need for information on the part of other parties, particularly on the management of flows induced by the take-back and on legal texts.

To answer these questions, some forty educational webinars have been organized, and new services have been developed on Espace-services, the dedicated member website launched at the end of 2020. A digital self-diagnosis tool has been provided for distributors: depending on their sales area or turnover, they can assess their take-back obligations and order the solution they need. The tool has been very well received: over 2,000 self-diagnoses have been carried out, mostly by small retailers. This is because the major retailers have been made aware of the tool and have received direct support.

A "digital shift" by Eco-mobilier, according to Cécile Cabre, Digital Director: " In the beginning, we used the information system as a management tool. Today, we see it as a world in itself, a reflection of our offer, easy to understand and use. We take users' needs much more into account, and we emphasize the services we offer .

A fine example of this the donation platforma digital tool designed to facilitate donation and reuse. The AGEC law prohibits the throwing away of unsold non-food items. Accessible to all members, it enables them to post ads for donated items, by unit or by batch. Partners in the social economy can consult these ads and respond if they are interested in one or more of them. " We took into account the needs of users, we made panels, we tested the solution with them ", explains Cécile Cabre. The aim is to foster closer links between retailers and associations to facilitate this new flow of donations and re-use.

On the collection side, the long-awaited digitalization of the Pro card has met a need to simplify and speed up procedures. It is sent by e-mail in PDF format with a QR code, enabling multiple use within the same company.

Another digitization system tested and approved by some twenty users: QR code collection. The principle: flash the dumpster identifier and enter a 4-digit code previously received to request removal of the filled dumpster. " Simple, fast and digital. The system is starting to be rolled out across the network," says Amélie Montoriol van Heesewijk, head of collection innovation.

An application is currently being created. " It will enable tradespeople in particular to find their way around the network and find out about sorting conditions; in parallel, drop-off points will be able to find out who has planned to come and set their own conditions. This project, initially designed for construction waste and included in the application for approval, will be extended to the management of all used products managed by Eco-mobilier", announces the collection innovation manager.