Reuse and Recycling European Union Social Enterprises Social Economy Day EESC Brussels, 1 July 2016
RREUSE in Europe RREUSE a European platform whose aim is the development of social enterprises active in re-use, repair and recycling in order to create local job opportunities for people suffering from exclusion.
The Network 31 national and regional networks in 16 EU countries plus one member in the U.S.A. Austria: RepaNet Belgium: Komosie Ressources, Prosper Bosnia and Herzegovina: Association "Hands" Croatia: Humana Nova Netherlands: BKN Finland: Tramel France : Emmaüs France, Envie Hungary: Humusz Ireland: Comm. Reuse Network, RehabRecycle, Recosi Italy: Farsi Prossimo, Orius, Rete ONU Poland: EKON Romania: Fără Frontiere Greece Ecol. Recycling Slovenia: CPU, Society, Klimax Plus Dobrote z.b.o Spain: Aeress Sweden : Macken United Kingdom: Reuseful UK, Furniture Re-use Network, Comm. Recycling Network Scotland, Community Composting Network U.S.A.: ReuseNYC
Some key figures 77 000 Jobs 65.000 volunteers and trainees 950.000 tons of material diverted from landfilling every year of which: 348.000 tons prepared for re-use 556.000 tons recycled A consolidated turnover of over 1 billion EUR
Main sectors of activities Prevention, collection, repair, re-use, recycling 192 000 tons of bulky items 305 000 tons of RAEE 150 000 tons of textile 130 000 tons of organic waste Second hand shops management International project to transfer know in developing countries
Why RREUSE in Brussels Because moving to a Circular Economy could create 870.00 new jobs across the EU by 2030 Moreover Circular Economy policies could save 415 Mega Tonnes C0² by 2030
Some figures about products According to UNETO-VNI the average lifespan of big appliances is of one additional year for each increase of 100 EUR in price range. Price Average Lifespan 0-199 24 mths 200-299 36 mths 300-399 48 mths 400-499 60 mths... UBA (Germany) confirmed that between 2004 and 2012 appliances replaced after 11 years decreased from 36,8% to 29%. More worrying, appliances replaced after 5 years due to defect rose from 3,5% to 8,3%
Reversing the trends According to Eurobarometers 77% of EU citizens prefer to repair their products instead of buying new ones. Make repair cheaper Easy access to service manuals Availability of spare parts for at least ten year No VAT on repair services Repair friendly criteria within Eco-design implementing measures (ie Austrian standards) Make disassembly operations easy (no restrictions on OEM components) Extending the burden of proof Inspiration for policies supporting repair? Regulation 461/2010 on vertical agreements in the vehicle sector
Repair jobs in decline In the Netherlands in 10 years specialised firms in electronics repair went down from 4.500 to 2.500 (UNETO) In Germany in one year 13% of radio and TV repair shops closed down (Ax, 1997) In Poland between 2008 and 2010 repair enterprises decreased of 16% to 14.070 (Polish Statistics Agency) In USA shoe repair shops decreased from 60.000 in 1995 to some 7.000 today In USA in 1963 some 110.000 people were employed as radio/tv repairmen. In 1982 they were 80.000. In 2006 only 40.000. This despite the doubling of TV ownership per household
Environmental benefits of re-use Repair and re-use extend the life cycle of products: less need for new items and less consumption of raw material Re-use is less energy demanding because most of the energy required in the life cycle is used at production level Re-use = Second best practice in the EU waste hierarchy just below prevention as the most efficient way to minimise waste creation
Social benefits Social enterprises active in re-use and repair create job opportunities at local level for people with low qualifications who are often the more exposed to exclusion and unemployment. Collection and sale of re-used/repaired products allow people with low income to have access to goods at decent price. This is very important considering that according to statistics 16% of EU population leaves below the poverty thresholds
Created in 1937 by Abbé Froidure to provide shelter to homeless Mission: to help people in exclusion to find a place in the society Holistic approach to exclusion: Home first Job second (to generate income and gain independency)
In total 1 sorting center, 1 Training unit and 21 second-hand shops with bargain prices 10.000 m² sorting centre in Anderlecht (Brussels) One training centre - HORIZON (large WEEE repair) 16 second-hand textile shops (one specialised in vintage and one in children clothes) 1 shop specialised in repair and sale of bicycles 4 multi-purpose shops selling furniture, bric-àbrac, clothing, electric appliances (Brussels, Wavre, Namur et Liège).
HORIZON Certified workshop to train young people to the repair of electr(on)ic appliances 1 coordinator 4 trainers 33 stagiaires 120 h theory 835 h practical training 62 % of the trainees find a job after the training phase
Collection Phase 3 main streams (Textile, Bulky, Weee) 7400 tonnes of material collected per year Free collection at home or through containers 50% from Brussels 80% (6.000 tonnes) textile through 800 textile containers in Belgium 21 shops in Belgium
Key figures Turnover: 14.500.000 EUR 650 people involved in the operations 222 paid staff 235 volunteers 124 inclusion contracts 54 residents 13 managers An increase of 38% in workforce since 2011
The Fashion Show
TO CONTACT US REUSE AND RECYCLING SOCIAL ENTERPRISES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION Rue Edimbourg, 26 1050 Brussels, Belgium T + 32 (0) 2 894 46 12 F + 32 (0) 2 894 46 13 E info@rreuse.org W www.rreuse.org Sustainable Development in Practice