Second hand, reuse and repair in Vaud

Last checked: 10 October 2026. Unofficial student guide, not EPFL or government advice: confirm on the linked official pages before you act. Unfamiliar abbreviation? See the Glossary.

Arriving with a suitcase and leaving after a few years makes reuse useful both ways: getting what you need cheaply, and passing things on when you leave. This page lists official and non-profit options around Lausanne and EPFL.

Key facts

• Ressourcerie at Malley: a reuse corner at the intercommunal waste centre of Malley (residents of Renens, Prilly, Chavannes and Lausanne); take or leave usable items. Waste centre card needed.
• Mobile waste centres (Lausanne): once a month, 14:00 to 19:00, in your neighbourhood, for recyclables and bulky waste.
• Repair cafés: free repair sessions on the EPFL campus (Unipoly Fix'n'Replace) every month.
• Charity shops: CSP Vaud "Galetas" shops (Lausanne, Le Mont, Renens, Morges and more); Croix-Rouge vaudoise "Au Fil Rouge" in Aigle.

1. Commune reuse options

Ressourcerie, Déchèterie de Malley (Chemin de l'Usine-à-Gaz 20, 1020 Renens)

• The waste centre is open to residents of Renens, Prilly, Chavannes and Lausanne with an access card. New residents receive a card automatically.
• Renens's page links to "Une seconde vie pour vos objets - RECUP'ACTIONS", the reuse offer of the centre. Exactly which items the ressourcerie accepts (for example, whether furniture and electrical appliances are excluded) is To verify on site.
• Hours published by Renens: Monday to Friday 8:00 to 18:00, Saturday 8:00 to 17:00; closed on public holidays.

Mobile waste centres, Lausanne (déchèteries mobiles)

• Once a month, a mobile centre sets up in your neighbourhood from 14:00 to 19:00; it accepts recyclables and bulky waste. For large clear-outs, the city asks you to use a fixed waste centre first.
• Find your location and date in the city's collection calendar.

Bulky items at home, Lausanne

• The city's waste page points to the Macadam service, which collects bulky waste at home for a fee, by appointment (Lausanne household waste directive). Macadam is run by the Fondation Mère Sofia and publishes its own prices: CHF 45 to remove a single medium-sized item (for example a small sofa, chest of drawers or single bed) for private customers in its central zone, otherwise CHF 25 per hour for one person or CHF 90 per hour for a vehicle and team, possibly plus travel (Macadam, prices).

Other communes: rules and reuse corners differ. See Waste by EPFL commune and Waste and recycling.

2. Repair cafés

• On campus: EPFL Sustainability supports Unipoly Fix'n'Replace, which runs free repair cafés every month for the EPFL community; EPFL's page says volunteers and professionals are there on the first Thursday of the month at the SPOT. Check Unipoly's announcements for the next date.
• Repairs in Lausanne: the City of Lausanne and the FRC (consumer association) run Lausanne-répare, a directory of repair shops in and around Lausanne. For free repair cafés across French-speaking Switzerland, its useful links page points to the FRC list on repair-cafe.ch.

3. Second-hand on and near campus

• Meubléco is a UNIL-EPFL student initiative (part of Unipoly, supported by EPFL Sustainability) where people sell unwanted furniture and buy what they need cheaply; it runs a stall and markets on the UNIL-EPFL campus. Current opening times and location are To verify on Unipoly's channels.

4. Charity shops run by non-profit bodies

Galetas du CSP Vaud (Centre social protestant): second-hand shops whose profits fund CSP's social services. Shops listed by CSP Vaud include:

• Palud, Escaliers-du-Marché 9, 1003 Lausanne (clothes and books);
• Blécherette, Chemin de la Tuilière 5, 1052 Le Mont-sur-Lausanne;
• Renens, Rue Neuve 10, 1020 Renens;
• Morges, Rue de Lausanne 4 bis, 1110 Morges.

CSP Vaud also offers free home pick-up of items it judges resaleable (form on its site), or you can drop items at a shop during opening hours.

Croix-Rouge vaudoise, "Au Fil Rouge" (Rue du Collège 11, 1860 Aigle): second-hand clothes at small prices, Monday to Saturday. Clothes can be dropped at the shop or in the Red Cross containers in Aigle. Each first week of the month, the shop announces 50 % off a large selection.

The City of Lausanne and the FRC run Lausanne-réutilise, a directory of Lausanne second-hand, repair and reuse addresses by category (lausanne-reutilise.ch). Online classifieds and resale apps also exist; this kit does not recommend any.

5. Money tight?

If buying basics is hard, see Money help: scholarships and grants.