“Our structures are tools for repairing lives”: up to 1,000 jobs threatened at Envie, the specialist in the reuse of household appliances

The law of the market has struck. On April 2, Envie, the largest non-profit operator of household appliance reuse, applied for around thirty of the 101 lots up for grabs in the national call for tenders launched by Ecosystem, the state-approved eco-organization tasked by electrical and electronic equipment producers with managing waste collection and processing. This was a crucial event for many of the 53 integration companies that make up this federation of the social and solidarity economy, and for whom their economic survival was at stake.

While 15 retained their contracts and six won one, nine were left with their beaks in the water. However, five of these logistics sites – Rennes, Nantes, Angers, Niort, and Mulhouse – heavily dependent on the eco-organization, are already faltering. Up to 1,000 jobs are directly or indirectly threatened , 75% of which are in the process of integration. "We are angry . Last year, we celebrated our 30th anniversary and our 20th anniversary of partnership with the eco-organization," reacts Ludovic Blot, director of Envie Rennes. "Our structures are tools for repairing lives."

Every year, 150 to 200 people who are far from employment are referred by France Travail to this structure to reconnect with the world of work. "In 2024, the rate of reintegration into professional life was 81%," asserts the director. The Breton network operates with three activities: logistics, the workshop and the store and, failing that, the recycling center if repair is impossible . "We represent 230 jobs with 150 in reintegration process ," assures the director. Unfortunately, the loss of these markets represents 70% of our logistics activities and 60% of our production. 85 jobs are directly threatened, mainly in integration, without taking into account the subsequent domino effect!

The company repairs and sells more than 110,000 major household appliances each year. "All of this is going to be destroyed in the name of a purely economic policy without taking into account the ecological issues of reuse and the social issues of reintegration," laments the Breton manager. "Obviously, we're more expensive than the others, but we're also more reliable!" he continues.

" Over the entire call for tenders, the social and solidarity economy (SSE) remains the leading transport operator. We're not changing gears with Envie, our partner for nineteen years," emphasizes Claire Lemarchand, communications director at Ecosystem, who points out that the selection criteria for the call for tenders are dictated by the regulations and the specifications imposed on it: 60% on the economy, compared to 40% for social and environmental issues. Faced with Veolia , Suez and other capitalist transport companies, the SSE is struggling to compete.

Following the failure of mediation organized by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, a legal appeal has been filed against Ecosystem. Envie Rennes is demanding "at least eighteen months to reorganize and preserve jobs and the remanufacturing sector," while Ecosystem had proposed ten to twelve months. "We are already on short-time working; now is the time to act to save our jobs," argues Ludovic Blot.