Under the Halle des Blancs-Manteaux in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, the sixth edition of the Fête de la Récup took place this weekend. A large annual meeting of resource centers and recycling centers in Île de France, the grouping of around sixty associations who came to share their know-how in terms of second-hand goods and repairs. Sewing or bicycle repair workshop, thrift store, second-hand sports equipment, second-hand toys and books, you will find what you are looking for in the aisles.
Paul Dumayet, the coordinator of Refer – the network of resource centers in Île de France – wants above all to encourage people to drastically reduce their purchases of new products: “We really want to tell them, you can buy second-hand, and not just clothes! When you buy from non-profit associations, it has an environmental mission but also a social one, because the majority of recycling centers are is committed to the integration of people who are far from employment.” And the goal is to teach the public to repair their objects with the help of volunteers. “We don’t realize when we buy a new product, in particular a fast fashion garment, the water resources that are consumed because we don’t have the direct repercussions near our home.he explains. But in fact the Aral Sea practically no longer exists, because water resources have been consumed in order to be able to produce and maintain the pace of fast fashion.”
– Pheline Leloir-Duault
This is particularly the case at the Repair Café stand where Bastien went with his defective coffee maker. “I don’t want to consume unnecessarily and then it costs less”, explains the 30-year-old. He would like to stick to the objectives set by France, i.e. two tonnes of CO2 emitted per person per year, and “If we look at the clothes or household appliances of an average Frenchman, we are beyond!” This observation is shared by Sarah, a young woman of 26, who came to the Fête de la Récup to learn more about the second hand: “I feel like I’m in a small bubble of caring people who are trying to make an effort, to consume better, more local and more organic, and I’m shocked at the lack of information among people my age! “ She says she is very worried about the future: “I’m afraid that people don’t understand the urgency of the situation, because they see heat waves as an exceptional phenomenon, except that we have them every year! It’s getting worse and worse and I’m afraid that people are not waking up to the climate emergency.”
An exhibition on our future in 2050
In the center of the Hall has been installed an exhibition entitled July 2, 2050, which shows the future as it could be if all climate issues were met. The visitor first goes through the key dates of the 20th century which led to overconsumption such as the creation of the first hypermarket in France in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois (91) in 1963, but also those which drove change such as in 1982 the opening of the first recycling center in France. Several statements are then offered to visitors who must guess whether they are true or false: for example, ecology costs a lot of money. Answer by Tancred Girard, communication manager of the Refer: “Yes, the ecological transition is expensive, but it is important to remember that climate inaction costs much more! The IPCC considers that action to achieve carbon neutrality costs 1% of global GDP, where inaction costs between 5 and 20%.”
“We see the money we spend, but we don’t see the money we don’t spend, but what it costs us not to act in time. And we have to consider the economic logic of the project: we talk debt, but not enough carbon debt and the money it costs French society.” – Tancred Girard
If the Fête de la Récup could not be held during the two years of Covid, the pandemic had an impact on the consumption of the French. Many have become aware of the need to begin a lasting and sustainable ecological transition so as not to risk new epidemics. Many of the visitors are already buying second-hand, composting and sorting their waste. Célian came with his daughters, Yasmina and Mélissa, 11 and 8 years old. He wants to make them aware of the waste of resources: “It’s important for their generation to understand how we can live better with less, find ideas to recycle waste in a better way, and use the resources we have without abusing them.”
– Pheline Leloir-Duault
But others are more pessimistic. Mario advocates “compost and recycling, given the ecological situation in which the world finds itself” and encourages young people to get involved in ecology. But in his opinion, the fight is already lost: “I don’t think it will get better, I don’t have a super optimistic view of the future from an ecological point of view, but I think we’ll get used to it!”, he quips. Moreover, the July 2, 2050 exhibition ends with an inverse portrait of the future if society continues in its direction: “It was important to show what happens if we do nothingexplains Tancred Girard. Why do we bother trying so hard? Because the path that we show through this exhibition is possible and desirable, it will not be easy but it is worth the cost of being led. Everyone has a role to play as a citizen, through their daily actions but also through their convictions, because they will influence the public policies of elected officials. A climate inaction that is expensive electorally can weigh in the balance.