Alison's Story
I’m Alison Rogers, founder of USEFULL. I'd like to tell you a bit about my story and how USEFULL came to be. This goes back to my childhood.
My mom is a walker. She walks many, many miles a day, but she’s not any old walker. She collects trash along the way. As a kid, it was SOOOO embarrassing to go for walks with my mom and her bags of trash. My dad is a sailor. He has taken me on countless trips from a very young age.
“Together, my parents helped me develop a love of and respect for the outdoors, especially our oceans.”
Here’s a story I remember vividly. It was my first time sailing offshore. I was in middle school. Imagine no land in sight for a few days. It was a beautiful, even magical experience. UNTIL… I saw a bundle of balloons floating in the ocean.
Where did these balloons come from? How did they get here?
“This was a moment of realization. Our on-shore decisions make an impact where we least expect it.”
As I got older, I began to appreciate my mom’s efforts and it solidified my frustration with finding trash where it did not belong. My mom most commonly collects food packages (water bottles, grocery bags, coffee cups, chip bags, to-go boxes), balloons, and cigarette butts while on her walks.
I’ve tried to do my part to reduce waste: I carry a reusable water bottle, I always use reusable grocery bags, I don’t have a car, I don’t use balloons, I even went so far as to work on a pumpout boat for a few years in high school/college! Yes, I pumped poo! I didn’t want it to get into the water! I didn’t want to swim in it!
“I cannot, however, change my lifestyle completely. I lead an on-the-go life and rely heavily on to-go food and drinks.”
I recycle what I can, but that too has limitations. Why can’t we eliminate the waste before it goes to our landfills and recycling centers (which by the way, is super expensive for cities and towns!)?
No one has really solved this yet. I’m on this journey to solve my personal dilemma. Specifically, I can’t go without my morning coffee or my midday salad and I love a good to-go dinner. Doesn't it always taste better when the pros make it? I love buying from local cafes and restaurants.
I always forget my reusable cup, and I feel so guilty about my habit because I care about the environment. Not to mention, my to-go food always comes in disposable bowls. And yes, those compostable options still have issues.
I’d like to introduce you to USEFULL, a solution to my personal dilemma that might be yours too. It’s the reusable cup and container rental program.
We’re on a mission to make being environmentally responsible convenient and attractive. This means clean cups and containers, strategically placed return bins, an intuitive app, a to-go cup and container that you want to be seen holding, and a robust network of cafes, corporates, and colleges partnering with us.
“Join me. Join us. Let’s elevate our consumption, together. ”