At a glance
Through implementing reusable containers within the Housing & Food Services Dining Facilities, we will leave a lasting… Read full summary
- Funding received
- 2018-2019
- Large
- Awarded
- $40,000
- Funding partners
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- Student Technology Fee (STF)
- Services and Activities Fee (SAF)
Through implementing reusable containers within the Housing & Food Services Dining Facilities, we will leave a lasting impact on the University of Washington community by reducing food waste and decreasing disposable container usage, overall lessening the University’s input into the waste stream. This program has the potential to encourage healthier eating habits among students and create a new relationship between them and sustainability.
The University of Washington prides itself on sustainability. The UW Farm, various rain gardens, and the mail bikes are all strong examples of how the UW promotes a culture of sustainability. The next step is to solve the problem of waste in our dining halls. The 2018 Waste Characterization Study found that 50% of the garbage in Housing & Food Services (HFS) housing contains compostable material. This is a significant issue that costs both the environment and the university. Reducing the amount of compostable containers that our dining halls use will shrink our contribution to landfills and cut the cost of removing trash from the university. The best alternative to disposable containers is a reusable container program. Through an outside company called OZZI, we, as students associated with SEED, a student organization dedicated to educating and advocating for sustainability, plan to introduce a reusable containers program at Center Table in Madrona Hall. This system will work by allowing students to purchase a reusable container, fill it with the food of their choice, return the container to one of two machines, and receive a token. This token would then be presented to dining staff in return for a clean reusable container with their food during their next to go purchase. The machines will collect the containers and HFS Dining staff will then be able to clean them. We have looked into other options, including building an in-house system, but this method is the simplest to implement and maintain. By funding a pilot program for reusable containers in one of the dining halls on campus, you will continue to promote a sustainable culture in our residence halls, promote sustainable habit formation and directly reduce single use, disposable waste.
Luke Walter Schefke
Project lead
- lschefke@uw.edu
- Affiliation
- Student
Jessica Moats
Team member
- jaymoats@uw.edu
- Affiliation
- Student
Our project intends to bring reusable to go containers to dining halls across campus at UW Seattle. This project is being headed by students and leaders of SEED, with support from professional staff. To begin, we would like to use the grant money to start a pilot program to introduce the idea at a smaller scale in only one dining hall in autumn quarter of 2019. This provides an opportunity to see the potential benefits and problems to overcome and give us a good start for expansion into a more comprehensive system.
University of Washington prides themself on being a leader in sustainability. As SEED, we feel that one of the next steps to move forward in sustainability is introducing reusable rather than compostable containers in our dining halls. As of now, with over 45,000 students plus staff, we are creating enormous amounts of waste with to-go containers. Even though the containers are compostable, the sheer amount of compost can be hard to manage. In addition, 50% of the garbage in HFS housing is compostable material according to the 2018 Waste Characterization Study, and one can assume dining has similar levels of contamination. The large amount of contamination in garbage creates two problems. First, it increases the price HFS has to pay to remove all student waste, because compost and recycling do not have a cost attached for removal, while transport to a landfill costs the school. Second, disposable products use up energy and resources, and, if they are not disposed of properly, there is no benefit of seeing them turned into a new product after use. Instead, they only contribute to a growing landfill. The best option is to attempt to reduce this waste before it enters the waste stream, and to do so, washable, reusable containers should be offered as another alternative to go container. Other universities have successfully created a system for reusable containers in their dining halls, including Washington State University, UC Merced, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The containers we would like to use come from a company called Ozzi. The containers are already designed and the process for getting containers distributed is established, there is minimal work for the university in order to start the program on campus. The Ozzi system works in the following way: a student pays a small fee (in the range of $2 to $5) and receives a clean container. The student then uses the container to store and eat food. When the student is finished, they place the container in the Ozzi machine so the barcode can be scanned. The container is deposited into the machine and the student is given a token. This token can be used by the student to receive another to-go container. Thus, the student only has to pay one time for unlimited access to containers throughout the year. When the containers are deposited, HFS staff take them back to clean them along with the rest of the cutlery and dishes. We would purchase the following products: two (2) Ozzi machines in Center Table, 2,000 - 3,000 containers (these can be in a wide variety of formats - the pilot program would include the standard, single-entree clamshell), 2,000 tokens, 10 boxes of liner bags, 4 OZZI carts (used to transport the used containers). This will cost approximately $40,000. We hope to purchase the equipment and have staff trained so we can begin the program at the start of autumn quarter 2019.
The idea for this project was initiated by members of SEED and is being lead by Luke Schefke, Director of Communications, and supported by the rest of the executive board. They saw this as a way to reduce waste produced on campus and reduce UW’s contribution to emissions. We have already gained strong support from our partners in HFS, including Clive Pursehouse, Torin Munro, and the rest of the Sustainability Committee who are willing to assist and direct SEED in our efforts as we work towards implementing this system. SEED will also have a large influence in the education of introducing this system, with plans to create posters, have an event with tabling and demonstrations in the dining hall, and have members stationed by the machines to explain the program.
We are applying for a CSF grant because HFS, our community partner, has a mostly predetermined budget. With funding from a grant, this would allow us to see how a system such as this would function, so HFS feels secure in taking a larger financial commitment in the future. The amount that we are requesting would cover the price of the machines, containers, tokens, liner bags, and carts. It would not cover any maintenance or utilities costs, but this is not expected to be significant and can be covered through other means (SEED funds of HFS rebudgeting). By providing this grant, the Campus Sustainability Fund can support a program that improves sustainability across UW and help create a sustainable habits in students for years to come.
Request amount and budget
How the project will react to funding reductions
If 10% of the funding was cut from the total amount requested, most of the project would continue as planned. We would look for other sources of funding to make up for the loss, including the HFS Dining budget as well as external contributions. However, it is still possible that even a 10% cut in funding could change the scope or timeline of the project. If 20% of the funding was cut, we would likely seriously consider cutting down the pilot program to one machine and half of the remaining requested items. This would be detrimental to the project as less students would be able to participate and there would be less accessibility and ease of use. If 50% of the funding was cute, we would almost definitely reduce the scope of the project to one machine and half of the requested items. This is detrimental for the reasons listed above, but also because we are not likely to secure the remaining funding and resources needed from other sources. It may be possible that we would have to delay the start of the program in order to acquire the necessary funds.
Plans for financial longevity
The project teams that will support the implementation, management, and maintenance of this project include:
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SEED: This team will focus on raising awareness of the program, encouraging student engagement, and soliciting feedback on the program. It will also work with other teams to ensure administrative tasks, such as ordering the machines and having them installed, are completed in a timely manner. SEED will experience a transition in leadership this Spring, and the incoming Executive Director, Jenna Truong, has expressed her commitment to completing and prioritizing this work with her new Executive Board.
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HFS Dining: This team will support the project by working with HFS Facilities to install machines, train staff on their use and how to distribute containers, complete any needed maintenance on the machines and solicit feedback from staff on the program.
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HFS Facilities: This team will help with the installation of OZZI machines in dining locations, and ensure their placement complies with HFS policies.
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RCSA: This team will assist SEED in collecting student feedback on the program. RCSA will experience a transition in leadership this Spring, and the incoming President, Kennedy Cameron, has expressed her commitment to supporting this work with her new Executive Board.
Should this project be funded, the most central first step to implementing the program would be ordering the OZZI machines, containers, and supporting materials. This order would be placed immediately after funding is received, and supporting work, such as raising awareness of the program, would also begin immediately.
Problem statement
The University of Washington sends tons of compostable material to the industrial composting facility and to the landfill each year. The 2018 Waste Characterization Study found that 50% of the garbage in HFS facilities contains compostable material. The large portion of that waste is generated from the food industry on campus and the to-go containers that are used. This food waste is taking up space in landfills, instead of being turned into usable compost. We recognize that this issue extends beyond our campus and see this program as an opportunity to raise awareness and incentivise sustainable habit formation that our students can take across this campus and beyond.
Our project would begin to reduce the number of single use compostable containers that are used and ultimately sent to the composting facility and the landfill. This initial project would serve as a proof of concept for a reusable container program on our campus. We have high expectations for a program of this type as institutions, such as Oregon State, have implemented a reusable container program on their campus and seen significant waste reduction; 60 tons of trash diverted from the landfill every year in the case of Oregon State.
Measure the impacts
The impacts of this project can be measured using a handful of metrics. First, we can measure the number of single use reusable containers that are not used. Second, we can track the number of times containers are used and by how many unique students. Third, we can observe the loss rate of containers due to loss, theft and misuse. Finally, we can facilitate feedback from students, dining staff, facilities staff and maintenance personnel which would allow us to gauge satisfaction with the program and determine what improvements are needed to better operate this program.
Education and outreach goals
We plan to spread the word about the new reusable container project through several methods. First, we will utilize posters that advertise the new container system and post them throughout the residence halls, dining hall, and other common student spaces. Second, we plan to set up tables near the new reusable container machines with educators in order to educate students on the new system face-to-face. Third, we will hold an event in Center Table, where the machines will be placed, to educate students and ignite excitement about the new program. Also, the pilot program itself is being used to raise awareness and experience about the program before an expanded program is put into place across campus.
This program heavily depends on student involvement to be successful. Students can easily start participating in the program by paying a small fee for a container either upfront or included in tuition, with each student paying between $2 and $5. Then, the students will bring back the containers to the dining halls in return them to the collection machines in exchange for a token they can use to receive a new, clean one to receive their meals in. The dining staff will take the used containers and clean them along with the other dishes and utensils used in the dining halls. In order to support this project, it is important that students are responsible with the containers. If students are able to bring back containers regularly and keep them in good condition, they will be supporting the project by helping it flow more smoothly and avoid large problems for the school to deal with, such as running out of containers or having to buy new ones. Additionally, Students Expressing Environmental Dedication (SEED) intends to keep its members involved in the project during its implementation through continued education efforts and tracking program metrics.
Student involvement
This student driven project would primarily impact UW students living in the residential communities. It would require their involvement in actively using the program by receiving a container, returning it, and replacing it with a new, clean one. In a recent survey of 576 current residents, 52.4% of residents said they would be very likely to participate in a reusable containers program and 29.7% said they were likely to participate. Additionally, 90% of respondents said sustainability was important to them. Given these responses, SEED feels confident that demand for the program exists and that it would be used by residents.
Implementing a program like this also reflects UW and HFS’s priority of implementing more sustainable practices. This program would raise students’ awareness of ways to reduce waste and how to make more sustainable choices in their own lives.
Student volunteers will be central to informing students of the program and teaching them how to use it. These volunteers can primarily be recruited from SEED membership. SEED currently has over 30 members who are dedicated to the implementation of this program. Other volunteers from Community Councils within the residential communities could also be recruited as needed.