The key ambitions of the furnishing elements EPR scheme are to:  

• Develop the reuse and repair of furnishing elements, in collaboration with social and solidarity economy (SSE) operators in particular;
• Develop new collection channels, through the take-back of used products by distributors in particular. 

Products concerned 

The products concerned by the furnishing elements EPR scheme are: 

• Movable assets and their components whose main function is to contribute to the fitting out of a place of residence, a business or a facility open to the public by providing seating, bedding, storage, or a surface for laying out or working;
• Textile decoration elements used to decorate walls, floors and windows with movable finished products based on natural or synthetic textiles, as well as their accessories, regardless of the materials from which they are composed. 

List of products  

You can view the list of products on the websites of Ecomaison, Valdelia and Valobat.

For further information, see articles R543-240 to R543-256-1 of the Environmental Code

Are your products packaged ? 

If so, you also come under the household packaging and graphic papers (EMPAP) scheme. 

The regulations define 12 different categories of furnishing elements: 

1. Meubles de salon, séjour, salle à manger
2. Meubles d'appoint
3. Meubles de chambre à coucher
4. Literie (dont matelas)
5. Meubles de bureau
6. Meubles de cuisine
7. Meubles de salle de bain
8. Meubles de jardin
9. Sièges
10. Mobiliers techniques, commerciaux et de collectivités
11. Produits rembourrés d'assise et de couchage (PRAC) (depuis 2018)
12. Eléments de décoration textile, ainsi que leurs accessoires (depuis 2022)

When a producer joins a producer responsibility organisation (PRO), it pays the organisation an EPR fee in return for the latter taking responsibility for its obligations relating to the products it places on the market.

This amount may be modulated upwards or downwards depending on the environmental characteristics of the products. A bonus rewards virtuous practices, while a penalty is applied to a product with characteristics that have a significant impact on the environment or human health.

Bonuses

Applicable within the furnishing elements EPR scheme in 2025

Penalties

Applicable within the furnishing elements EPR scheme in 2025

A given product may be eligible for several bonuses. However, a product subject to a penalty cannot benefit from a bonus.

Producers, to enquire about the conditions you have to meet and the procedures you have to complete to benefit from a bonus, or check whether you are subject to a penalty, please contact your producer responsibility organisation.

Find out more about EPR fee modulation

The order of 12 October 2023 laying down the specifications for PROs in the furnishing elements scheme sets the following targets: 

Collecting targets : “quantity (by mass) of waste furnishing elements collected during the year in question (N), including furnishing elements sent for reuse, relative to the annual average quantities (by mass) of furnishing elements placed on the market over the previous two years (N-1 and N-2)."

Recovery targets :  “quantity (by mass) of waste furnishing elements entering a recovery facility during the year in question, where applicable, after undergoing the inspection, sorting and other preliminary operations required to remove the waste that is not targeted by the recovery processes, relative to the quantity (by mass) of waste furnishing elements collected during the same year and that have not undergone reuse or preparation for reuse.”

Recycling targets :  “quantity (by mass) of waste furnishing elements entering a recycling facility during the year in question, after undergoing the inspection, sorting and other preliminary operations required to remove the waste that is not targeted by the recycling processes, relative to the quantity (by mass) of waste furnishing elements collected during the same year and that have not undergone reuse or preparation for reuse.” 

Reuse targets: “quantities (in tonnes) of used furnishing elements that have undergone reuse or preparation for reuse.”
 

Other targets 

• Regionalised collection targets: target quantities of waste to be collected by region.
• Recycling targets for certain material flows: target quantities of waste to be recycled, by material. 

For further information, consult the specification.

• First accreditation of coordination body OCABJ : Order of 8 April 2024
• Latest accreditation of Ecomaison : Order of 27 December 2023
• Latest accreditation of Valdelia : Order of 21 December 2023
• Premier agrément de Valobat : Arrêté du 21 décembre 2023
• Specifications : Order of 12 October 2023
• Data reporting : Order of 12 December 2022
• Roll-out of the Reuse Fund and the Repair Fund : Order of 14 October 2022 
• Extension of the EPR scheme’s scope to include textile decoration elements : Order of 1 July 2022
• Simplification of waste management : Decree no. 2017-1607 of 27 November 2017
• Legislation establishing the scheme : Article L541-10-1 of the Environmental Code

The producer responsibility organisations (PROs) for the furnishing elements scheme, Ecomaison, Valdelia and Valobat (since 2024), assume responsibility on behalf of their member producers. For each product placed on the market, the producer pays an EPR fee to the PRO it has joined. The fee amount is directly related to the type of product placed on the market and calculated so as to finance all of the producers’ obligations, including the cost of managing end-of-life waste (prevention, reuse, collection via and outside the public waste management service, waste sorting and recycling, awareness-raising, etc.).

Producers are encouraged to commit to an ecodesign approach. EPR fees applied to products can being modulated (adjusted) through bonuses or penalties based on criteria such as the use of recycled materials, the presence of hazardous substances, and product recyclability.

Citizens play a decisive role in how effectively the system operates and ultimately succeeds through their repair and sorting practices. The PROs and local authorities support the system by providing appropriate information to raise awareness of the benefits of repairing, reusing and recycling, and issuing clear instructions on extending product lifespans and on sorting, applicable to furniture used by both individuals and professionals. 

Collection

To encourage collection, the PROs provide citizens with a large number of take-back points, either permanent or set up during ad hoc collections, throughout the national territory. Collection is also organised by the public waste management service, often through waste collection centres and similar facilities. The public waste management service acts as the interface between contributors and local authorities.  

Two types of collection are deployed within the furnishing elements EPR scheme: 

• Separate collection (operational management ensured by the PRO): the collection of waste furnishing element flows that are separated from other waste flows, or that are collected together with other waste flows from products covered by extended producer responsibility obligations, for which the PRO is accredited;
• Unseparated collection (the PRO provides financial support to the local authority for handling operational management of the collected flows): the collection of waste furnishing element flows along with other types of waste from products not covered by extended producer responsibility obligations, or waste from products covered by these obligations for which the PRO is not accredited. 

The website Que faire de mes déchets/objets (“What to do with my waste and objects”) is designed to help individuals adopt best practices in terms of repair, reuse and recycling.  
It is based on a simple, intuitive search engine: by entering an object or waste item, users can find out how to dispose of it responsibly.  
An interactive map also shows them where they can find their nearest collection, repair and reuse points.