La Ressourcerie AIR

What La Ressourcerie AIR does

La Ressourcerie AIR (legal name: Artois Insertion Ressourcerie) is a French non-profit association (loi 1901) founded in 1992 and headquartered in Bapaume, Hauts-de-France. The organization operates a circular-economy business model that combines bulky waste collection, sorting, repair, and resale of second-hand goods, while serving as an Atelier Chantier d'Insertion (ACI) that trains and employs people distant from the labor market. As of 2025, it operates three expo-sale workshops (ateliers expo-vente) in Bapaume, Ervillers, and Péronne, after closing its Bucquoy and Arras locations earlier in 2025. Core services include scheduled bulky item collection from households and businesses (Déchets d'Activité Économique), in-house restoration through sandblasting (aérogommage with glass bead abrasive), furniture relooking and upcycling, custom pallet-wood industrial furniture production, firewood collection and sale from the Bois Durieux forest for energy-poor households, and estate clearing (vide-maison/debarras de succession). Pricing is pay-as-you-go with very low unit prices; annual membership costs €5 and electrical items carry a one-month guarantee.

The business model blends earned revenue from product and service sales with public-sector subsidies and grants. Revenue streams include second-hand retail sales, collection and disposal fees, professional services (estate clearing, custom restoration), firewood sales, and environmental education workshops. The organization holds ESUS (Entreprise Solidaire d'Utilité Sociale) and Intérêt Général status, is ACI-conventioned with the DDETS for Pas-de-Calais and Somme, and applies the National Collective Agreement IDCC 3016. It operates under director Vincent Baralle and president Michel Lamur (since 2017), with a Board of Directors that includes the mayors/councilors of the served communes. Workforce totals roughly 160 people including about 19 permanent staff and ~140 insertion (CDDI) employees; in 2022, 243 people were employed through insertion pathways with approximately 60% achieving durable employment outcomes within 24 months, and the organization diverted over 1,500 tonnes of waste from landfill annually.

Customer base spans individual consumers seeking low-cost goods, three Communautés de Communes (Sud-Artois, Haute-Somme, Terre de Picardie) that contract collection services covering 72,000+ inhabitants, and charitable partners (Secours Populaire, Secours Catholique, Restaurants du Cœur) for energy-poverty relief. Marketing is event-driven (Marchés Solidaires, Printemps du Réemploi, Joli Mois de l'Europe) supplemented by a website, blog, and active Facebook/LinkedIn/Instagram presence. The organization co-founded the national Réseau des Ressourceries in 2000 and partners with the Conseil Départemental du Pas-de-Calais for the Bois Durieux eco-activity and the European Social Fund (FSE+/FTJ) for insertion programs.

Name

La Ressourcerie AIR

Legal name

Artois Insertion Ressourcerie

Website

https://laressourcerie.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

La Ressourcerie AIR is a French non-profit ressourcerie in Hauts-de-France that collects bulky waste, restores and resells second-hand goods through three retail workshops, and provides insertion employment to people distant from the labor market under ACI/ESUS status.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Reuse and Recycling Services

NAICS

Waste Collection (56211), Materials Recovery Facilities (562920), Reupholstery and Furniture Repair (811420)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953)

akta.pro primary industry

Reuse & Resale / Recommerce Operations (EUAIANAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Repair, Refurbishment & Remanufacturing Services (EUAIANAB), Donation Pickup & Reuse Hauling (HSAKALAI), Donation, Consignment & Resale Coordination (HSAFAFAG)

Keywords

• Second-hand retail
• Bulky waste collection
• Circular economy services
• Social insertion employment
• Furniture restoration

Headquarters

HQ city

Bapaume

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Second-hand product sales: Sale of reused and repaired items (furniture, appliances, clothing, household goods) through chain of retail stores at low prices
2. Collection and disposal services: Collection of bulky household items and waste from economic activity (Déchets d'Activité Économique - DAE) from households, businesses, and local authorities on appointment
3. Professional services: Home clearing services for estate situations (successions) and difficult-to-access properties, including key retrieval and photo documentation
4. Wood fuel sales: Collection and sale of firewood from Bois Durieux forest cuttings to households facing energy poverty at reduced prices
5. Environmental education and awareness services: Animation and awareness workshops on reuse, recycling, and sustainable consumption for schools, businesses, and the general public

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

La Ressourcerie AIR is a French non-profit reuse and recycling center that collects bulky household items and economic-activity waste (Déchets d'Activité Économique - DAE), sorts and restores them, and resells second-hand furniture, appliances, clothing and household goods through a chain of physical retail stores (magasins solidaires). It also produces and sells firewood from Bois Durieux forest cuttings, runs sandblasting (aérogommage) workshops for furniture restoration, and provides house-clearing services for successions and difficult-to-access properties. All operations support a triple social mission of professional insertion, environmental protection and community support.

Product overview

La Ressourcerie AIR operates as a unified reuse and recycling center offering a coordinated set of services: bulky item collection, second-hand product sales across retail locations, firewood production and sales, furniture sanding/restoration workshops, and house clearing services. The organization functions as a single integrated operation rather than a platform with separate modules, where collection feeds into restoration workshops that supply the retail showrooms, and all activities support the social insertion mission.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Collecte d'encombrants (Bulky waste collection)

Quantifiable outcome

• 60% of insertion employees achieve positive employment outcomes within 24 months
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Fondation MACIFminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Social foundation partnered for financial education and budget management awareness activities for insertion employees, working with Familles Rurales association.
• Mutuelle APREVA - Groupe AESIOminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Health insurance provider delivering first aid training and providing defibrillators to establishments. Supports workplace health and safety initiatives.
• Infodevnet.comcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2018Website development and digital communication partner based in Ervillers. Designed new visual identity, logo, roll-up displays, and manages ongoing website maintenance. Also provides IT and telecommunications consulting.
• Communauté de Communes du Sud-ArtoiscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Primary local government partner providing premises and subsidies. Supports wood Durieu eco-activity and overall association operations. Led by President Jean-Jacques COTTEL.
• AFP2iminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Social economy and popular education organization providing Fab-Lab demonstrations with 3D printers, drones, and virtual reality tools during community events.
• Réseau des RessourceriescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012National network of ressourceries founded in July 2000 with five other ressourceries, based in Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise. Provides peer support and sector coordination.
• Conseil Départemental du Pas-de-CalaiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOwner of Bois Durieux forest property providing wood for heating fuel eco-activity. Manages European Social Fund (FSE) envelope for employment access. Supported eco-activity development.
• Opérateur de Compétences (OpCo) Cohésion Sociale - UniformationcoreOthersCompetency operator managing professional training for insertion sector branches since April 2019, replacing former OPCA framework.
• Imprimerie CardonminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLocal printing company in Arras contracted for signage installation across vehicle fleet and store locations.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves14 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Réseau des Ressourceries: National federation co-founded by La Ressourcerie AIR in 2000. Not a peer but an ecosystem/coordination body providing peer support, sector representation, and shared standards across the ressourcerie movement.

Direct peers

• Emmaüs France: France's largest federation of ressourceries and insertion-driven second-hand networks (brocante, brics, textile). Closest direct comparable to La Ressourcerie AIR's combined reuse + insertion model, with much larger national footprint.
• La Recyclerie: Paris-based ressourcerie running a café, repair workshops, and second-hand resale. Direct comparable in concept (collection, restoration, retail, awareness) but operating in an urban setting.
• Envie: National network of insertion-led enterprises collecting, refurbishing and reselling electrical and electronic equipment. Operates the same ACI-style insertion/reuse model targeting household appliances, directly overlapping with La Ressourcerie AIR's core activity.
• La Petite Recyclerie: Small-scale ressourcerie combining collection, repair workshops, and resale. Comparable by model (local ressourcerie, repair/upcycling, second-hand retail) although smaller and community-focused.
• Le Relais France: Insertion-driven network collecting, sorting, and reselling textiles and household goods. Comparable on the social-insertion-across-circular-economy model and ACI-style structure, though more textile-focused.
• Recoma: Ressourcerie in the Hauts-de-France region with similar collection, sorting, and resale activities. Locally comparable ressourcerie operating in the same region and serving overlapping community and local-authority customers.

Broad incumbents

• Vinted: Leading consumer-to-consumer second-hand apparel and lifestyle marketplace. Competes for the second-hand demand that La Ressourcerie AIR's retail stores also serve, although Vinted is digital and pan-European.
• Back Market: Large-scale online marketplace for refurbished electronics and appliances. Not a direct peer (commercial, no insertion mission), but competes for the same end customers buying second-hand goods.

Regional players

• Les Petits Riens: Belgian social-insertion ressourcerie running second-hand shops, collection, and reintegration programs. Comparable by business model and social mission, but operates primarily in Belgium rather than France.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/laressourcerieair
• Facebookfacebook.com/laressourcerieair
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/la-ressourcerie-air
• Instagraminstagram.com/laressourcerieair

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about La Ressourcerie AIR