Six months ago, the Patxa’ma association was born with the objective of reusing the construction material. Its founders are Olivier Hirigoien and Julien Simon, and they have a small residence in the Harausta district of Biarritz. The first worker was quite singular to them. After the G7 summit, Suez called on companies to call for things to be recovered in the special assemblies that had been made for the Heads of State. They picked up two tons of pieces that would otherwise have been thrown into the bin.

The two creators of Patxa’ma are workers of the construction world. “We had realized that there were great waste materials,” says Hirigoyen. “Most of them have been voted and can be reused.” In the event of rehabilitation or dismantling of houses, the officers must, by law, provide the waste to landfill sites. "In most cases, officers don't know what to do with these materials because there's no structure that can put them back into the circuit. Very few people have the habit of reusing and they will throw everything to the landfill.” Knowing that it has a cost for those companies of officers who pay for tons of service. “Reuse is for your good. Also for landfill management entities, as they are full. We relate to Bil ta Garbi, who is often blamed for overcoming the warehouses.”

Patxa’ma recovers the team in two ways. On the one hand, a landlord who has been left with too much after sending too much. “In these cases, the landlord doesn’t know what to do with the remnant, and we take it.” The other way is to move away from what can be useful when a house is broken down. “We arrive before we undo, we do a test and tell the owner what we can recover. Just like last week, in Angelu: a beranda, doors, windows, electricity. We present a budget and balance it with that of the company that is going to undo it. It is no more charitable than breaking and throwing away what has come.”

On the other hand, reuse is of great interest for what is needed material for the works of the house. “The materials we recover we put back on sale at half price or a third again.” The interested party has two options: to go directly to the works area where the material has been removed or to the hostel Patxa’mak has in Biarritz. “In the same worker we prefer the meeting place in Biarritz because it is too small.” Until now, the association has a catalogue of discarded material that can be consulted if requested.

Architects mediators

The project has already gathered some echo, and the architects have started to call their two companions at random from a work. “For the moment, it is made mouth to mouth. It's a network." The aim would be to generalize this smell among the workers. “We want to professionalize the Department. We want to propose ways of making them reliable, which can be repeated. We guarantee the origin and quality of the materials we re-sell.” Urbanoyen believes that this is a principle, so they want to mark the way properly. “A century ago the reuse of the material was commonly made, but it has been lost due to the smell of consumption: buy, use and throw. We are convinced that the use of the male will become normal again and we do our best to make it professional.” Serve for other projects of the same nature. “On the coast, above all, there are people who are buying houses and destroying everything to do the new. So if it’s a big quarry, we’re sure there’s room for others.”

In Ipar Euskal Herria, seeing to what extent prices have come because of the aggressive construction, Hirigoyen is clear that it is in the interests of all to reuse them. “The price of land has skyrocketed both on the coast and inside. Young people or new owners have large investments only for the price of land. Therefore, they are interested in getting good material at half the price.” In addition, it ensures that the new material will not get cheaper. “We’ve realized that in large businesses like Castorama, Leroy Merlin, prices rise by 5% each year.”

In fact, these groups can lobby to curb or bring this second-hand market under their control. “This dynamic may well be hindered by some strong groups, but the latest laws that have been voted on in both Europe and France are a source of hope for re-use.”

What about local authorities? Do you not see the elected office as revenue the tax paid by the officers on the remains that have brought them to landfill? “Landfills are quickly overcome and are a problem. What’s more, as companies have to pay for waste, wild dirt has multiplied, so the College should encourage its reuse.” Basically, Patxa’ma Bil Ta Garbi talks with the aim of making a random agreement. It also called for economic aid to the Single Commonwealth of Iparralde, but it has been left without it. However, they would like the organization to help them find a larger headquarters, due to lack of space, as Simon and Hirigoyen have to give up some of their opportunities. What's more, they want to create an atelier to share the knowledge of the work, to carry out the idea of reusing and doing it for themselves.

Today, Simon and Hirigoien work as mediators. They get a week here, releasing a week to work as volunteers for the association. If the department develops, Patxa’man, however, aspires to dedicate himself to all the time. In this art, they work with the help of the members of the association, as they did last week in a house in Angelu. They want to see now in Baiona, in the famous Plantoun district, among other things, if there is any way of distinguishing things, because the responsible institutions have warned that the houses that were badly built will be destroyed.