USEFULL: LESS THAN 1% INVENTORY LOSS RATE!
USEFULL’s tech-enabled stainless steel takeout solution is unique in the world of reuse, where our competitors continue to fill the world with plastic and “tokens.” Why tech-enabled? Because users need a simple solution to help them be accountable and return containers in a timely manner.
Why stainless steel? Not only do stainless steel containers provide a superior takeout experience due to the heat retention and durability, but we believe that you can’t solve a plastic problem with more plastic.
Turns out we are right.
The article With reusable container programs, foodservice operators hit successes and snags (August 2022 in Food Service Director) illustrates our hypothesis in depth. “As part of its sustainability efforts, Northwestern began providing plastic reusable takeout containers to students in 2018. However, only 12% of those containers were being returned”, said Krista Brown, sustainability and community engagement manager. “Unfortunately, last fall, over 12,000 purple [plastic containers] were not returned and have likely ended up in the landfill, where they will take up to 450 years to decompose,” Brown said.
Additionally Crista Martin of Harvard University noted that with the plastic reusables program in their campus cafe setting, students would often mistake reusables for garbage and simply toss them out.
Carleton College: Case Study
When we first met with Carleton College, they had recently implemented a “Green2Go” (G2G) program to reduce the need for single use packaging. The program was great in theory, but had a lot of room for improvement. The major pain point was that the G2G containers would disappear through the term. During each term, they experienced a 50-60% loss rate of containers.
A working hypothesis is that most of the loss was attributed to the difficult-to-monitor token system and the fact that the students could mistake the plastic containers for trash and either throw them away in the trash bin or in recycling.
In an attempt to improve, Carleton switched to the USEFULL system for Fall 2022. Our findings from the first term of implementation at Carleton are astounding:
Though the students have access to a five-day rental period, the average rental period is only 24 hours. The dishwashing staff is able to wash and get the inventory back into circulation quickly.
In the first trimester alone, Carleton lost less than 1% of inventory; down from 50-60% the prior terms.
Simply put, USEFULL provides a superior solution. Our library-like checkout system guarantees quick returns, allowing dishroom staff to get the inventory cleaned and back out into circulation in a timely manner, requiring far less inventory on hand. Unlike plastic reusables, no one mistakes our solid, double-walled stainless steel containers for trash. Our solution is a win for dining managers and students alike.
By MJ Eldridge, Head of Operations & Product Management, MJ@usefull.us