A new repair workshop at the recycling centre in Osserain

Ever since it was created in 2002, the AIMA association (the French acronym means “Let’s imagine a world of friendship”) has kept its promise: to give the second hand a humanitarian and social vocation. AIMA is hyperactive and never stops developing. “As soon as we identify a need, we develop a response for it,” said Bertrand Dumaz, the treasurer.

Second hand takes on a humanitarian and social dimension

After creating an exchange market in Bardos in 2009, in 2014 AIMA opened its first depot in Came to store and sell the many objects, clothes and items of equipment that had been collected. In 2016, a recycling centre for professional equipment was opened to support the enthusiasm for equipping offices with second-hand items. AIMA has a total of 6000m2 of storage space and 2000m² of display space spread across 3 sites in Salies de Béarn, Osserain and Came. They receive an average of 500 visitors every week. Results are very positive: the sales made it possible to finance sending 193 humanitarian trucks of medical material to countries in the East and more recently to Africa. It was also possible to create 28 local jobs, most of them permanent.

Repairing instead of throwing away thanks to a 3D printer

A meeting with Eric Bonneau, an entrepreneur in the social and solidarity economy who specialises in home support care services, marks a turning point for the association, which has just created ‘AIMA Autonomie’. The aim of this new project is to fight against the waste of medical equipment such as wheelchairs or medical beds, which are used for a relatively short time.

A repair and disinfection workshop is opening on the Osserain site to recondition the items. It will be equipped with a 3D printer, financed thanks to the prize for eco-innovation created by the Communauté Pays Basque. “We will be able to recreate the pieces still missing among the medical equipment and also electrical appliances. Of the 1000 tonnes of products we deal with every year, we will save another 200 thanks to the 3D printer,” enthuses Eric Bonneau.