Project – Tohu et Retournzy

La TOHU and Retournzy

The customer

La TOHU is a laboratory for sustainable development through culture (circus – earth – human). Through the circus arts, it aims to bring together different spheres of our society, such as community, vitality and the environment. It is a presenter specialized in contemporary circus arts, working in the Saint-Michel district as a unifying ambassador.

Project summary

TOHU organizes a summer bistro with an outdoor terrace. As part of its environmental mission, the organization strives to meet the high demand as ecologically as possible, taking into account all labor and sanitation constraints.

That’s why the collaboration with the Retournzy cooperative, which offers a turnkey service for the rental of reusable tableware, helped the event to be a resounding success.

The challenge

While remaining as environmentally friendly as possible, we had to be able to serve thousands of meals without the need for a dishwasher. Labor was also a constraint, as the use of reusable crockery had to be clear and simple to avoid confusion and waste.

This means raising spectators’ awareness and installing efficient, easy-to-use and clearly signposted waste management bins.

The solution

Retournzy supplies, transports and cleans the reusable containers at these events for a greener service. Transport is by bicycle, and the whole operation produces very few emissions.

All in all, we were able to save money:

  • 4,500 single-use containers
  • 10,000 utensils
  • 2100 disposable glasses

*Only 2% material loss.

The service provider

Retournzy is a cooperative offering rental, delivery, collection, washing and sanitizing of reusable items for events and food service companies.

The all-inclusive service offers an eco-friendly alternative to disposable containers to reduce waste in the catering, event, corporate and institutional sectors. The mission is to revolutionize the way meals are consumed by offering an ecological, economical solution that contributes to the community.

Results and findings

The containers were available throughout the 2023 summer season. The very positive feedback showed that the project was feasible with the right organization.

The project prevented the use of 11,165 disposable items during the festival. We hope to see this solution adopted more frequently at events of this scale.