In a recent interview, Foodservice Director Tim Leary expressed sincere enthusiasm for Eco-Takeouts™ as a product. He likes their durability, stackability, — and the fact that once they do wear out, he can recycle them. Although he has tried compostables, he found that they break down quickly, sometimes before a meal is completed.

Tim provided additional details — helpful information for other B and I accounts interested in setting up a reusable to-go program:

Accountability System
Ball buys all containers, and there is no cost to employees to use them. The honor system has worked well, and 80% to 90% of the containers are returned to the cafeteria promptly. The rest are left in break rooms for pick-up by cafeteria staff. Tim also provides incentive for non- foodservice employees to return “strays.” It’s not uncommon for a custodian to return ten containers found in odd places. The effort is rewarded with a free cookie or soda.

Logistics
Ball’s 3-mile corporate campus is made up of seven buildings. So yes, it requires more work from his team to retrieve containers from each location. However, as you will see once you read on, the savings more than offset the additional labor needed to collect containers.

Keys to Success
Here’s why Tim believes the reusable container program has been successful:

• Top-down support. Ball executives eat in the same cafeteria with other employees. They use Eco-Takeouts™ and return them to the cafeteria, just like everyone else.

• Company-wide commitment to sustainability.

• A DVD produced by corporate communications to introduce the program and explain how to participate. Email reminders were also sent during the first few weeks of the program.

• Foodservice management commitment and staff buy-in.

The Bottom Line
• Before Eco-Takeouts™, Tim bought 50,000 Styrofoam™ containers a year.

• Instead, he buys 1,000 or so Eco-Takeouts™ containers every other year. (He does buy a case of disposables once or twice per year for visitors.)

• Estimated savings — $800 per month.

• Other savings: two hours per day in labor (less trash to manage) and one less Dumpster every other week.

G.E.T. applauds Tim Leary and Ball Corporation for making the commitment to maintain a reusable to-go container program. Ball employees also deserve recognition for their part in making it work. Their efforts are paying off in cost savings and environmental benefits!

As a part of its school-wide effort focused on creating a “cleaner, greener USF,” Dr. Christian Wells, Director of the Office of Sustainability, began looking for ways to reduce waste in the area of foodservice. Working with Jenna Burns, Marketing Manager, USF Dining Services/Aramark, Dr. Wells succeeding in eliminating all Styrofoam™ takeout containers in 2010. The exclusive use of
Eco-Takeouts™ is just one of several foodservice sustainability initiatives, and also complements the reusable mug program. Students enthusiastically embrace the Eco-Takeouts™ containers, and don’t mind paying the $4.00 deposit as a part of their meal plan fees.

USF has found that the Styrofoam™ ban helps the earth AND the budget. Here are just a few facts:

• Before the ban, USF used and discarded 8,000 disposable containers a week or 250,000 containers a year.

• These quantities represent 30% of all garbage generated by USF.

• By buying Eco-Takeouts™, USF Dining Services is saving at least $6000 per year.

The NBC and ABC affiliates in Tampa covered the one-year anniversary of all Eco-Takeouts™ usage in recent news broadcasts. To see video of these reports, click on these links:

Looking at USF’s No Styrofoam Policy

USF is taking green to a whole new level

In a recent blog post, Kendall Singleton, Sustainability Coordinator for UVA Dining Services, provides instructions to students on how to end their participation prior to summer break.

UVA uses the key tag (token) system as the basis for container accountability. At semester’s end, the blog post advises students on how to return rinsed containers and/or key cards, and how to get deposits returned. Specific details about the return process can be found here:

http://uvagreendining.blogspot.com/2011/05/reusable-to-go-container-refunds.html

Kendall assessed the Eco-Takeouts™ program with these words: “Our reusable to-go system has worked pretty well so far and I don’t foresee us making any drastic changes to the program in the next year or so. The large majority of the feedback [from program participants] I have received is positive, with students expressing their appreciation for the program.” While Kendall acknowledges that a “good number” of students return neither the key card nor the containers at year-end, many of them are underclassmen and will likely continue their participation in the next year.

Innovation and personal involvement help Eco-Takeouts™ programs work, and UVA’s plan is no exception. In 2010, UVA Dining Services donated Eco-Takeouts™ to a campus sorority house for use in its catering operation. By using Eco-Takeouts™, the sorority house reduced its use of Styrofoam™ for packaging meals served to sorority sisters after regular dining hours. Kendall personally delivered the boxes, and talked to the sorority sisters about the reusable container program’s importance within the overall dining sustainability initiative. She is now working with the Office of Sorority and Fraternity Life to explore the possibility of expanding the program to other houses in the Greek community.

For more information about UVA’s reusable container program, visit
http://www.campusdish.com/en-US/CSMA/Virginia/Sustainability/NewActions.htm
Cheers to UVA for using Eco-Takeouts™ as a part of its environmental footprint reduction plan!