As a Sustainability Manager for a large food service company, Laura Weiss saw how many colleges and universities were using Eco-Takeouts™ to reduce landfill waste.  In 2010, she started GO Box, a business that provides Eco-Takeouts™ to food carts in downtown Portland, Oregon.  The containers allow customers to enjoy the convenience offered by the food carts, without having to use disposable to-go boxes.

After a pilot test with a few carts, GO Box “went live” on July 5, 2011, and now has more than 15 participating vendors and 140 subscribers.    Cart owners and customers have responded enthusiastically, and new locations are signing up each week.   The service offers three sizes: EC-09 (9”x9” high-profile, 3-compartment), EC-12 (9” x 9” low-profile/3), and the EC-11, which is 9” x 6.5”.

Process planning was a key component of the GO Box launch, just as it is with any reusable container program.  Yet the accountability system works almost the same as it does in many collegiate, healthcare, and corporate environments.  Subscribers pay an $8.50 initiation fee, which entitles them to a reusable container from any participating food cart.   Upon completing their meals, subscribers can return the container to one of several drop-off locations in downtown Portland in exchange for a token.   That token can in turn be used to receive another container the next time a food cart meal is purchased.

While collection of the used containers proved to be an initial obstacle, Laura has created solutions that work well and have generated side benefits.   For example, several brick and mortar stores agreed to maintain drop boxes.   The drop boxes bring new visitors through the doors, and some of them have become customers of these businesses. A few of the larger companies maintain drop boxes onsite at their facilities, which allow employees to return dirty containers without having to leave their buildings.  Onsite collection offers convenience for employees, and ties in to corporate sustainability initiatives.    GO Box employees empty collection boxes each day and take the containers to a commercial dishwashing facility.  Clean containers are delivered to food carts the next day and the cycle continues.

G.E.T. congratulates Laura Weiss for combining her passion for sustainability with a marketplace need to develop a viable business model.

Check back next week to read about how Laura applied her model to another venue – the Pickathon Music Festival!

And speaking of tokens, University of Vermont doesn’t use the standard plastic chip – it uses cow tags! As the name implies, these are the actual markers farmers use to identify livestock. While no program participant has specifically commented on the use of this unique solution, it is an example of how creative marketing and communication can add spark to a sustainability program.

By Fall 2011, UVM plans to increase the number of locations offering Eco-Takeouts™ from two locations to six, one of which is the college’s highest volume lunch location. The new semester will also bring a ten cent increase in the discount given at the register for reusable container usage, up from the current five cent discount.

I recently had the chance to ask Sodexo Marketing Assistant Jay Taylor and student David Manago some questions about the University’s reusable container program. Here are their responses:

Q: Your committee reviewed several container options. What made you decide that the Eco-Takeouts™ containers are the best solution?

Jay: We were looking for a container that is sturdy, leak-resistant and easy to clean. Our previous containers were flimsy, very leaky and, for some reason, had many nooks that made the containers difficult to clean and even more difficult to perceive as being clean. Sanitation and food safety are very important to us.

David: The container itself is very appealing to the buyer’s eye. It is sturdy, has helpful sections to divide up foods, clasps together well to ensure a tight close, and has a cool green tint to it. It is large enough for a good sized meal, though convenient enough to carry. Compared to other versions, if my memory serves me, this container seems better made, more apt to holding foods, and overall more visually appealing than its predecessors. [non G.E.T. containers used during pilot programs]

Q: What were some of the challenges and objections in launching the Eco-Takeouts™ program and how did you overcome them?

Jay: Accountability was certainly a significant issue with our pilot programs. Our pilot programs did not incorporate an accountability model, and we only received 35% of the containers back by the end of the program. Participation was also a significant issue. In order to spread awareness, we partnered with UVM’s Eco-Reps (peer educators dedicated to promoting ecological living and sustainability to fellow students) and other student groups to spread the word on a peer-to-peer level. To encourage consistent and repeated use of the program, we offer a 5-cent discount to customers every time they use an Eco-Takeouts™ instead of a single-use container, which is roughly the same amount we save.

Feedback has been very positive. We certainly aren’t hearing any complaints! Publicity has helped spread the word about the program.

David: Peer-to-peer education has really made a difference. Here at UVM, we use our Eco-Reps to share ways we can make significant changes to the amount of degradation we force upon our Earth through simple changes in our lifestyles. Eco-Reps educate their fellow students on the simplicity of the program and the BIG impact it makes with regard to UVM’s consumption and waste.

Q: How do you believe using reusable containers supports the overall goal of sustainability?

Jay: University Dining Services has been composting since before composting was cool, and using recyclable and compostable packaging in every instance that we can. Offering Eco-Takeouts™ is the next stop on our journey towards sustainable dining services, and I think it is a particularly important one. Even if compostable and recyclable packaging is sorted properly, the fact of the matter is that it is still packaging that must be collected and transported. By replacing that single-use packaging with reusable packaging, we aim to significantly reduce our environmental impact AND our solid waste management costs.

David: Reusable containers are an easy way to cut consumption and, therefore, waste on campus. For years I’ve ridiculed the [retail locations] due to the sheer amount of waste generated by them, but now it’s possible for these locations to be just as sustainable as the dining halls. This program helps support UVM’s overall goal of sustainability by giving the campus an option towards decreasing overall consumption and waste in a simple way – changing the way we eat.

For more information on University of Vermont’s Eco-Takeouts™ program and other sustainability initiatives, click on the links below.

Eco-Ware Facebook Page
http://Facebook.com/EcoWareAtUVM

Article published by UVM Communications:
http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=news&storyID=11507

Article (similar to previous) published by Packaging Digest:
http://www.packagingdigest.com/article/512462-University_of_Vermont_launches_Eco_Ware_reusable_take_out_container_program.php

Article in Campus Newspaper:
http://www.vermontcynic.com/green-to-go-1.2446822

One of the tools AASHE provides is The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System™ (STARS). STARS is a self-reporting structure to help schools measure their progress toward sustainability. STARS includes incentives for continual improvement and innovation. It also emphasizes collaboration over competition by encouraging schools to share best practices.

There are three primary categories of STARS credits: Education and Research, Operations, and Planning, and Administration & Engagement. Credits can be earned in the fourth category of Innovation as well.

Foodservice management falls under Category 2 – Operations. Credits can be earned for sustainable activities in food purchasing and waste reduction. Syracuse University, for example, won the AASHE 2009 Campus Sustainability Leadership Award. Use of Eco-Takeouts™ was cited as one of many factors in Syracuse’s selection.

Are you ready to be a STAR? Find out more about the AASHE STARS program at and about implementing reusable containers at www.ecotakeouts.com.