While walking around campus, you probably have seen people with green containers and wondered what those containers are and how they are useful.
Sodexo’s Skyhawk Dining Facility has a green way for those on a meal plan to get their to-go meals. The green eco-container program is reusable and helps UT Martin reduce its carbon footprint by reducing waste that goes to landfill.
Every student on a meal plan at UT Martin is eligible to get a green reusable container, so It is easy to participate. There are four steps in the eco-container program. The first step is to register for the program. Students interested in the green container program can register with the cashier when they enter the dining facility, it takes less than five minutes. Students can only register for one reusable green container. Step two is that receive your reusable container. Step three is the fun step: You retrieve your food in the to-go container and go wherever you need to go and eat. The most challenging part is step four, where you must remember to bring the container back to get more to-go food.
The green to-go containers are only for take-out meals. You cannot dine in the facility and request take-out food during the same visit.
The dining facility makes it easy to use the reusable container by cleaning the container for you. Students bring the dirty container back and get a clean container. If you want to eat in the dining facility and not get your food to go, simply bring your dirty container to the cashier and you will receive a green carabiner. The next time you want your food to go, exchange the green carabiner for a green reusable container.
The green, BPA-free, reusable container is made in the USA in a zero-waste facility with a 98% diversion rate. The diversion rate is waste that does not go to the landfill.
The reusable container program has been successful for the university. According to Sydnee Kalinisan, Sodexo field marketing coordinator, “In the 2022-2023 academic school year, the university saved $8,216 in paper costs. Each green reusable container could be reused about 300 times.”
