From the coffee cup at your favorite campus cafe shop to the takeout containers in the dining food court, single-use items are all around us and used in our everyday lives. But what if we could change that? Many of us try our best by recycling the single-use containers we receive. In most cases, however, food takeout containers are not accepted by recycling centers, and when a single-use container is “contaminated” with food waste, it becomes unrecyclable. Black plastic (aka takeout containers) in particular is very difficult to recycle. I speak from experience as a past line worker at a recycling center.

That is the kicker, though! Single-use items are just that, a one-time use kind of deal.

We have all heard the phrase, “reduce, reuse, and recycle.” The first R has always been reduced because it's the most effective strategy in decreasing the amount of single-use plastics. Stopping single-use items at the source completely eliminates the environmental impact of creating and transporting plastic in the first place. Reduce is the most effective when you pair this with Source Reduction or Pollution Prevention (P2).

How does this relate to food recovery? Well, many of our food recoveries rely on single-use plastics to safely transport surplus food from one place to another. Recovering surplus food is already an incredible way to help protect the planet, but transitioning to reusable containers can take that one step further. It's possible to get rid of single-use in your food recovery and dining halls as a whole with a little logistical planning and effort. We are here to help support and would love to chat logistics with you.

I strongly believe that nothing can change unless YOU ask for the change. When I was an advisor to the FRN chapter at Northern Arizona University (NAU), I proposed the idea of replacing the single-use take-out containers with stainless steel containers from USEFULL. NAU already had a reusable container system in place, but it was failing. The reusable container system that was implemented prior to USEFULL failed due to a one-for-one physical token system, technology flaws, and lack of support. USEFULL’s team collaborated closely with dining services and the NAU technology team to ensure the success of the program.

I received many no’s before I finally got one yes. It took 2 years and a lot of relationship building and understanding of what each group needed to make this happen. It was an easy yes for the green community on campus. But our dining provider wanted a formal plan with a detailed cost analysis, information on how this would affect operations, and what the long-term plans would be after the first year of the pilot.

Collaboration played a key role in ensuring the success of the program. After many meetings, proposals, and conversations with the dining team alongside the NAU community at large through surveys, we were able to create a plan for the first year of the program. All key stakeholders helped support the program and ensured it was successful, from how it was run (operations) to how it was perceived.

After all the planning, proposing, and securing a year of funding for the USEFULL project, Northern Arizona University (NAU) became the first university in Arizona to accept and embrace a fully mandatory reusable container system. After its first year:

NAU had 140,00 check-outs (at three dining locations)
10,000 users registered on the USEFULL app
99.74% containers circulating since day one
Expanded to three more locations in fall ‘25 and continues to expand

None of this change would have happened if I had accepted the first no, but with the help of many capstone groups and the green community of NAU, we were able to make a difference.

While I was asking for campus-wide change with the support of one group of NAU students, another group of students was also working on incorporating stainless steel reusable pans into their food recoveries. Led by Kiley Feld (the chapter president), effectively eliminating single-use aluminum in all food recoveries. Kiley worked with the NAU Greenfund to secure funding to supplement FRN funding to purchase 20 containers to get started. With detailed plans, collaboration, and breaking down operational barriers, we were both able to incorporate stainless steel containers into campus dining.

There are many benefits to switching to reusable containers for your food recovery and in dining operations (if you don’t already have a system in place).

Reusables can help your chapter:

Save money
Save space
Stack more food trays on top of each other, which can increase efficiency when transporting
Improve food safety

Switching from business as usual to something unfamiliar can be daunting. Not sure where to start or how many you should purchase for your chapter? We are here for you! I would love to chat with your chapter about logistics, costs, and how to incorporate them into your food recoveries. One of our new chapters (North Carolina State University A&T) created this Excel sheet to help start your reusable food recovery journey.

Although the cost to bring reusables into your food recovery can be higher, single-use food recovery comes with recurring costs of purchasing aluminum pans. Here are some questions to think about when setting us a food recovery with reusable stainless steel pans:

Which location do you recover food from that would make the most sense to have stainless steel full and half-size pans?

All you care to eat locations and catering events usually produce servings in full and half-size pans.

Who could wash the containers? Does your partner agency have the capacity to wash?
Can dining provide reusable pans they no longer need?
Who will make sure the pans get picked up/brought back to the dining hall for the next recovery?
How will you mark your pans?

You can use a dermal tool (maintenance can help here) to engrave FRN into the pans.
Colorful duct tape with your chapter’s name
Have a specific marked location where you can store your reusables

My advice to any chapter that is looking to incorporate reusables into either your dining halls or food recovery is:

Start with one dining hall and expand to more once you have a process in place.
You never know until you ask, don’t give up on the first no!
If it doesn’t work at one location, you should try another
…who knows, stainless steel pans might be the best upgrade to your food recovery journey!

There is no one path on how to incorporate stainless steel or reusables into your dining operations, but you can’t make change without questioning business as usual. We are here to help support your chapter's journey into reusables.

Current FRN chapter utilizing reusables:

If you are a chapter using reusable items or a chapter interested in moving away from single-use items, let us know!

Email programs@foodrecoverynetwork.org.