• The “gourd friendly” movement brings together businesses, mainly bars, from all over France.

  • A dynamic map references all establishments as well as public filling points.

  • The movement was launched by the start-up Hoali to reduce the use of plastic bottles.

It does not necessarily make a lot of noise but it is gaining momentum.

In Paris, Marseille, Toulouse or Rennes, the “gourd friendly” movement brings together more and more bars, restaurants and traders.

More than 140 have already joined the project launched a few months ago and some 700 others have committed to do so by May.

The principle: allow people who wish, whether they are customers or just passing through, to fill their bottle with fresh water, without compensation.

At the origin of this idea, there is Hoali, a Breton start-up acting in favor of eco-responsible household consumption.

“In 2019, during a heat wave, I wanted to fill my water bottle in town and I didn't know where to go.

I was almost going to buy a bottle of water,” recalls Alexandre Solacolu.

The co-founder of Hoali knows that 9 billion liters of bottled water are consumed each year in France.

“It is the first deposit of plastic waste in the bins of French homes.

Only one out of two bottles is actually collected for recycling.

It is a source of pollution and enormous CO2.

»

"I would never have dared to ask in a shop"

The start-up then seeks solutions to remove the obstacles to the use of the water bottle.

Aware that there are “too few” public fountains, Hoali federates the bars and takes care of communication.

A dynamic map is set up to find the nearest partner establishment, as well as public filling points.

“The bars are committed to welcoming people who arrive,” says Alexandre Solacolu.

In exchange, we make them known.

These are initiatives that some bars were already taking but consumers were unaware of it.

»

The target audience is large, but tourists and mobile workers are obviously the preferred target.

“It's a great idea, confirms Karine, a Parisian tourist queuing to visit the Machines de l'île, in Nantes.

Generally I look for toilets to fill my water bottle.

But I would never have dared to enter a trade to ask.

I don't know if I would have been well received.

“A hundred meters away, Adrien, manager of the Sourcerie bar, recently joined the “gourd friendly” movement.

“I am sensitive to the environmental message and concerned about rendering a service to people in the neighborhood or to visitors.

Filling a water bottle takes two seconds, it's not a big effort.

So adhering to the process is a pleasure”, justifies the boss.

And soon beer or cider?

Hoali hopes to convince around fifty establishments in each of the top 20 cities in France.

To accelerate the movement, the start-up engages with tourist offices and public actors, who remunerate it in return.

“The gourd is not just a symbol.

It is an action that benefits the territory, with a real impact”, insists Alexandre Solacolu.

In a second step, Hoali wishes to accompany the bars towards another form of filling of gourd, merchant this one.

"You can put beer, cider, lemonade, iced tea in it... When you see the number of picnics and aperitifs that are organized on sunny days, you can measure the potential, both for the development of activity of local businesses than for the reduction of waste", considers the co-director of Hoali.

Adrien, the manager of the Nantes bar La Sourcerie, is interested in getting started.

“I think there is a demand.

The bulk beer sale that we had organized during the health crisis had worked very well.

We just have to settle the question of pricing because not all gourds have the same capacity.

A national experiment should begin by the summer.

Planet

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Society

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  • Bottle

  • Plastic

  • Planet

  • Water

  • Nantes

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