Solidarity reuse actors and environmental NGOs ask for support for reuse in construction

Key figures

• 70% is the share of construction in the annual production of waste in France.
• 224 million tonnes is the annual production of waste in the construction industry in France (including 46 million for buildings alone, ie the equivalent of the quantity produced annually by households in France).
• 111 kg CO2e is the quantity of emissions avoided per ton of non-hazardous waste collected as a mixture at the site and sent for recovery.
• 90 is the number of SSE structures involved in the diagnosis, removal and reuse of building materials.

The AGEC law (anti-waste for a circular economy) of February 2020 set up a new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) sector in the building sector, with the ambition of applying the polluter-pays principle to the management of this waste, but also to prevent its production and to fight against illegal dumping. After a decree published at the end of December, an order relating to the specifications of the sector is being finalized, the draft of which is proving disappointing in relation to the aims sought by the legislator and the environmental emergency.

According to the actors of solidarity reuse and environmental associations, it would be essential that these specifications serve to build an ambitious strategy to encourage reuse in the sector and provide for a reuse fund, as stipulated by the AGEC law and as there are in other sectors (textiles, electrical and electronic equipment, furniture, toys, etc.). This fund would provide financial support for the reuse and re-use of construction materials, activities that effectively reduce waste, and more broadly the environmental impacts of the construction sector (in terms of climate, overconsumption of resources and damage to ecosystems). This would involve directing part of the eco-contribution included in the sale price of construction products and materials (according to the polluter-pays principle) towards reuse activities carried out by SSE structures.

This reuse activity is all the more important as a shortage of construction products and materials is currently the cause of multiple construction site delays. At the same time, more and more local authorities want to develop material resource centers on their territory, in particular in response to the increase in taxation (TGAP) on landfill and incineration operations. In addition to providing a concrete solution to these shortages, these materials recycling centers also contribute to the creation of local jobs that cannot be relocated.

The creation of a reuse fund would allow the construction sector to accelerate its ecological transition, with rehabilitation-deconstruction sites exceeding 1 m000 having the obligation (but often not the means) to carry out a Products-Equipment-Materials diagnosis -Waste aimed at limiting the quantity of waste produced and favoring reuse over recycling.

For Jérôme Saddier, president of ESS France: “The construction industry is responsible for 70% of waste production in France. Given this challenge, we believe it is essential to help those involved in the reuse of this sector, many of whom come from the social and solidarity economy. The positive impact of a reuse fund would not only be environmental, but also social, with significant job creation in our territories. »