The world is drowning in waste produced by a human society that has made the squandering of resources and overconsumption its way of life and mode of operation… Across Europe, in various regions, people of good will among the general public are seeking solutions and creating a new social and solidarity-based economy, on their own scale. This is the case with TRI, a Franche-Comté-based nonprofit that, for the past 24 years, has been recovering nearly all the waste it collects in its region through reuse or recycling, while creating jobs through workforce integration as part of a community-based solidarity initiative. We visited TRI’s resource center in Quingey, one of the first and oldest facilities of its kind in France.
«It's crazy how much stuff people throw away!» notes Fabienne Dole, our guide and TRI’s communications director. Indeed, like ants, the employees and volunteers at this recycling center bustle among mountains of discarded items in a 2,700-square-meter facility. One hundred twenty employees per year—two-thirds of whom are in work-integration programs—and eighty volunteers work here to collect, sort, repair, refurbish, and then sell items, clothing, furniture, books, and materials in the organization’s store, or to find recycling channels for the various materials.
Here, nothing is thrown away, nothing is burned—the goal is zero waste…
According to Fabienne Dole, recycling streams are becoming more specialized: «We’re gradually trying to find recycling streams for all materials. As far back as 24 years ago, we were already collecting tin cans—at a time when selective sorting hadn’t yet been implemented— metals, cardboard, then plastics—and little by little, the system diversified until today we have six to seven different collection bins. Everything is sorted by material type. If an item is resold, we call it reuse; otherwise, we refer to it as recycling by material. » At the Quingey site, fabric and clothing account for 2% of sales to individuals, even though they’re also the most commonly collected items. «We put flawless items up for sale; the rest of the textiles go to recycling to make new insulation materials.» TRI recently launched a new service: curbside pickup. «We pick up furniture and other items, sort them, and resell them after sometimes making a few repairs. We have a furniture restoration workshop for minor repairs. People also come to pick up furniture to restore; they enjoy restoring it themselves. There’s also the textile and toy workshop, and then there’s the book workshop, which is very important. Book sales account for about 10% of our total sales revenue. We have a large team of volunteers who sort the books; some go to the store, while those that can’t be sold are sent to the paper recycling bin. Then we have a workshop for appliances and computers. All appliances that come in are tested; if they don’t work, they go to the e-waste bin. And then there’s a tableware workshop: the items are sorted, some go to the store for sale, and the rest—if broken—are put in the construction waste bin. Anything that can’t be repurposed or sold on-site goes for recycling; nothing ends up in household trash or at the incinerator. All of this has been put in place gradually, as new recycling channels have emerged and awareness of waste issues has grown. We’ve received a lot of support from the community of communes, and we’re in a region where people are aware of these issues and are taking action. » The Tri team is no stranger to this mindset, as it has been working in schools for 20 years on awareness campaigns about waste, recycling, consumption, and composting. « Unfortunately, people still throw away just as much because we live in a consumer society. People throw away brand-new items, and in the past, those things would have gone to the incinerator; the good news is that now they’ve gotten into the habit of taking their waste to the recycling center. There’s also the collection of bulky items—this has always been around; it’s what we call «mortes.» Anything that can be resold comes here, and the rest goes directly to the recycling center to be recycled. And we have staff at the region’s recycling centers who educate people about sorting and waste recovery.».
The only items that do not currently have a recycling stream are stuffed animals and wheeled suitcases, and the TRI team is looking for new companies capable of recycling these materials.
The TRI recycling center also serves a social purpose in the region, as it employs a significant portion of its staff through job training programs, supplemented by volunteers.
«That’s what makes the association so special—it’s about helping people get back to work and fostering solidarity. » Vanessa Chay, the recycling coordinator, also oversees the solidarity networks and explains where the textiles that aren’t sold at the Quingey site go: «Right now, we fill a semi-trailer every three days; they’re sent to another sorting center in Alsace. There, the items are sorted again by material and then resold to Eastern European countries, Africa, and for «Métisse»—a sound-insulating material made from cotton. Right now, we’re hosting an organization from Burkina Faso that collects everything that’s been processed but remains unsold in the store—including clothing and toys for children, as well as medical supplies such as crutches and wheelchairs…»
The Quingey recycling center operates year-round and has four main functions: collection, recycling, sales, and public awareness campaigns And then the nonprofit took over the operations of a laundry that was set to close and had employed many local women. The predominantly female staff now works as part of a job placement program at this TRI laundry facility, which generates revenue for the organization. The laundry facility, which meets the latest standards, is also committed to environmental sustainability.
Thus, thanks to the support of local authorities from the very beginning, as well as the dedication of its staff and the local community, the TRI recycling center has become a leading eco-responsible business in its region, setting an example for the rest of the country.
Nathalie Laulé, in Franche-Comté.
