Description
Ressourceries and recycleries are local second-hand shops, most often run by associations, that collect objects people no longer want, check, clean and repair them, then sell them at low prices or give them away. The Réseau National des Ressourceries et Recycleries (RNRR) brings them together and maps its members. They are an alternative to throwing away things that still work and to buying everything new.
Seven organisations founded the network in 2000, after visiting the ressourceries of Quebec. It owns the trademark “Ressourcerie”: a ressourcerie takes every kind of object, while a recyclerie specialises in one type or material. The network now has 312 members in mainland France and the overseas territories. Together they report about 7,000 employees, 4,000 volunteers and more than 25,000 tonnes of objects reused. Many members also give jobs to people out of work: 62 % of their employees are on integration contracts, and more than half the members are integration organisations. Each has four tasks: collecting, sorting and repairing, selling or giving, and raising awareness about waste.
In 2018 the national network went through a court-supervised recovery plan, and by 2022 its finances were sound again. Since 2023 it has run the Réemploi Solidaire label with Emmaüs France, Envie, L’Heureux Cyclage and other networks.
Strengths
- Furniture, dishes, books, toys and clothes at low prices, checked and often repaired.
- Local jobs, many of them for people returning to work through integration contracts.
- A place to give away what still works instead of taking it to the tip.
Weaknesses
- Stock changes every day, so finding a specific item takes luck and repeat visits.
- Opening hours are often limited, and some shops only open a few days a week.
- The network’s map only shows its 312 members, not every second-hand shop in France.
Who it is for
Anyone furnishing a home on a small budget, students and young families, and people clearing out a home who want their things to be used again.
Sources
- Réseau National des Ressourceries et Recycleries: home, notre histoire, les ressourceries et recycleries, le réemploi solidaire, checked November 2026
- Wikipédia: Ressourcerie