Shepherd University students may now get their meals to go in the Fireside Bistro, the Ram’s Den and the dining hall, with a $5 deposit on a reusable container.
Gone are the disposable Styrofoam containers. Instead, the university is aiming to reduce waste.
“Students may bring their reusable containers back to the cafeteria, and deposit them inside an OZZI machine in the Student Center next to the Ram’s Den. In return, they receive a $5 token that can be used for more takeout,” said Scott Anderson, the association director of dining services.
“It is an easy system that no one has to monitor,” Anderson said, noting he learned of the system last year when he met OZZI representatives at a seminar for the National Association of College and University Food Services.
OZZI is cost efficient, Anderson said. The program costs the university $400 monthly and saves the university up to $10,000 a month on the cost of the Styrofoam, he said.
According to Anderson, this is the first time that Shepherd University has used OZZI.
“There [are a] variety of ways for students to take out food,” Anderson said.
Anderson acknowledged that students hesitate to use the system because they don’t want to pay an extra $5 for takeout containers. He said that the price is mostly a rental fee.
Once students return the containers to the machine people would wash the containers so they could be reused Anderson said.
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