“We even recover the steps of the stairs”: the Reuse Factory shows the way in Montpellier

Dans l’ancien garage Opel de l’Avenue du Marché-Gare, les matériaux de construction ont remplacé les autos. Midi Libre – JEAN-MICHEL MART

It had been in the pipeline for several years: Michaël Delafosse visited the Re-Employment Factory this Wednesday, April 24, a place for the recovery and resale of materials from demolitions in the Metropolis. The opening to the public is planned for October but the association is accessible online or by appointment.

Sinks, windows, balustrades and wooden planks have replaced the cars: in the former Opel garage on avenue du Marché-Gare, this is where cars are located. is a whole sector that is being structured. Supported by the City and its social landlord Altémed, this circular economy project came to fruition at the end of the year. nbsp;last.

The Mas Réemploi association won the "permit to imagine" launched by the Metropolis in November 2022, giving it the right to operate the 4,000 m2 site for four years. &quot ;Before, when we demolished, we broke everything. Today, we reuse". Yves-Alain Liénard is the co-founder of the association, which is already established in Crès.

Reuse before recycling

In anticipation of deconstruction, the technicians carry out a "resource diagnosis" then go before the demolition workers& nbsp;to recover as many materials as possible. "We go through the entire process: we identify what can be removed, we load a truck then we sort the objects upon arriving at the workshop", explains Yves-Alain Liénard. He adds: "We even recover the stair steps !" The materials are grouped by type so that they can be better redistributed. In the center of the building, scaffolding is waiting to be processed: "They will one day go to the foundry. But first, we must extend their lifespan as much as possible.

115 tonnes collected since December

The co-founder of Mas Réemploi congratulates: "Since our installation at La Restanque at the very end of 2023, we have  ;nbsp;already collected 115 tonnes of materials and avoided 180 tonnes of carbon emissions, i.e. nearly 200 Paris-New-York round trips. But the warehouse is still being fitted out: "For the moment, we are only open by appointment and via our online store. I think that we will only welcome the public, individuals and professionals, from October".

Recovery operation at Mosson

As an example, out of the 300 cubic meters of cut stone from the Uranus residence, demolished in 2023, 180 reusable cubic meters were extracted by the demolisher. "We deposited around forty kitchens and bathrooms to reuse them", explains Yves-Alain Liénard.

A changing neighborhood

Planned by the City and the Metropolis, the renewal of the concerted development zone (ZAC) de la Restanque, which will allow the construction of 7,000 housing units, will extend over the next thirty years. The building of the old garage, which belongs to Altémed, is on suspended sentence: he will be retrodictedé à the City at the end of 2027. No project being defined for the moment, Mas Réemploi hopes to occupy the site "a little longer".