Le Fourgon, the cardboard of the Lille start-up on a crusade against disposable plastic

© Le Fourgon

Le Fourgon is reviving an old practice: the deposit on glass bottles. Through its offer available in many French cities, the start-up aims to reduce plastic waste.

Containers reused up to 40 times

Founded by Charles Christory, Maxime Tharin and Stéphane Dessein in 2021 in Lille, Le Fourgon specializes in home delivery of products in returnable glass bottles. Its model is simple; customers can order products via the company's app or website, and are delivered during the chosen time slot.

Le Fourgon then takes care of collecting the glass containers in which the items were delivered. They are washed in a warehouse and reused up to 40 times. A deposit is applied to each of them, which explains the slightly higher prices than in supermarkets. The latter is refunded when the bottles are returned.

Returnable bottles were in vogue for many years in France, before single-use plastic packaging was favored by manufacturers. A scourge for the environment: according to ADEME, each inhabitant generates 573 kg of waste per year in France, while nearly 3/4 of plastic escapes recycling.

Since its creation, Le Fourgon claims to have reused 10 million containers, avoiding the emission of 3,700 tonnes of CO2 and the production of 300 tonnes of plastic.

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Promoting the short circuit

In addition to reducing plastic waste, the company also promotes the circular economy. More than 50% of the products offered are local, meaning they are located within 150 kilometers of its warehouses. While a few global brands are also available, Le Fourgon really focuses on regional products.

Initially, its offering mainly consisted of liquid products such as milk, soda, juice, beer and wine, but it has since expanded its catalog with grocery items and even cleaning products. What they have in common: they are all sold in glass containers.

It's a success. The company works with over 300 producers. It is also present in over 2,500 French cities and has around 55,000 customers. « We know why we get up in the morning. Families who buy from Le Fourgon have seen their trash cans divided by three, even by four. We are changing the situation in the daily lives of our customers “, Charles Christory recently confided to Échos.

The start-up, which aims to expand to new municipalities, could benefit from the legislation in place. France aims for 10% of packaging to be reused by 2027.

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