Recycling uniforms in the fire service

Chief fire officer Paul Malassigné was embarrassed to learn that a large number of old fire service uniforms, which no longer complied with the new norms despite being made from fibres with exceptional characteristics, had been buried and were of no further use because they had been replaced with uniforms satisfying the new standards. His superiors agreed to allow him, during his free time, to think up new ways in which these old uniforms could be used. He worked relentlessly, collaborating with a social and solidarity-based company to collect the uniforms, and also with a recycling industrialist to manufacture thermal and sound insulation panels from the fibres. He was able to equip five fire station buildings with very high-quality insulating material. He is determined that this success should lead to the development of a sector targeting high added-value markets, such as the aeronautics industry, the railway industry, shipbuilding, and, ideally, the aerospace sector. This project won the 2019 MMA Foundation for Future Entrepreneurs’ ‘Best First Impression Award’ in its ‘Grand Prix des Bonnes Nouvelles des Territoires’ competition.