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!

Eco-Takeouts™ in Qatar!

The Eco-Takeouts™, a series of reusable to-go containers, have now spread to the country of Qatar. In August of 2010, the Qatar Foundation adopted the Eco-Takeouts™ throughout Education City. Education City houses ten higher education institutions, eight of which are branch campuses of US-based universities. These include Virginia Commonwealth University, Weill-Cornell Medical College, Texas A&M University, Carnegie Mellon University, Georgetown University, and Northwestern University.

Christopher Silva, the Sustainability Education Coordinator for the Qatar Foundation, reported that approximately 700 of the 2,000 students at Education City use the Eco-Takeouts™. The reaction so far has been positive. “I have seen the container utilized in various events and some institutions have agreed to not offer Styrofoam containers in their cafeterias anymore,” Silva reports.

Although the initial launch was successful, Silva recognizes that it is “still a young initiative and logistically challenging, as we have eight higher education institutions in our campus, each one with its own operations.”

In today’s world, it is encouraging to see global solutions to common issues, such as waste. From the United States to Qatar, the Eco-Takeouts™ provide an effective, yet simple solution to reduce waste and develop new, eco-friendly habits.