Lunch at the Alferd Packer Grill in CU Boulder’s University Memorial Center looks the same as it always has. Students order, pay, grab their food and go. What’s different is what’s in their hands when they walk out. Since August 2026, the disposable takeout containers have vanished. Students hold stainless steel containers that are tracked, returned, washed and back in circulation before the next meal rush.

The University of Colorado Boulder launched USEFULL this semester, becoming the first campus in Colorado to replace single-use takeout containers with a tech-enabled, plastic-free reuse program. The rollout began August 10 at SEEC Café in the Sustainability, Energy and Environment Community building and August 16 at Alferd Packer Grill — two of the highest-traffic dining locations on a campus that serves more than 3 million meals each year.

How the No-Waste Takeout Program Works

When students order meals, they arrive in a durable stainless steel container. They can take them wherever they like and must return the container to any USEFULL return station on campus within two days. Campus Dining then washes, sanitizes and returns them to circulation. As long as the container comes back, there are no extra costs.

USEFULL’s technology tracks individual containers, manages returns and provides the accountability needed to operate reuse at scale. The CU Boulder launch also marks the debut of USEFULL’s new checkout and return stations, built directly into the existing dining infrastructure so the experience feels seamless rather than like an extra step.

“Partnering with the Environmental Center to bring USEFULL to campus is an exciting step for Campus Dining & Hospitality,” said Matt Bratton, director of Campus Dining and Hospitality at CU Boulder. “This program reinforces our commitment to making collaborative operational decisions that support CU’s sustainability and waste reduction goals. It also provides a unique opportunity to raise awareness and educate the campus community on how sustained behavioral change can make a big collective impact.”

Why Reusable Campus Dining Containers Make an Impact

University dining operations are among the highest-volume single-use packaging environments in the country. A campus serving 3 million meals a year generates an enormous quantity of disposable containers — most of which, even when technically recyclable, end up in landfill.

Instead of continually purchasing and discarding single-use foodware, participating locations keep durable containers in continuous circulation. 

“Students don’t need to choose between convenience and reducing waste,” said Alison Cove, founder and CEO of USEFULL. “The goal is to make reuse work naturally with the way people already eat on campus.”

CU Boulder’s Sustainability Record

The USEFULL launch builds on a dining program already recognized for its sustainability work. Campus Dining & Hospitality sources local and organic ingredients including Boulder County potatoes and organic tofu, operates all-electric kitchens in its newest residence hall and measures the carbon footprint of its food. Its Village Center Dining won the Green Restaurant Association’s 2025 Greenest University Restaurant Award.

“CU Boulder shows what it looks like when a large university moves reuse from a sustainability initiative into everyday dining operations,” Cove said.

That same logic is showing up in communities across the country, from Phoenix restaurants using pay-it-forward meals to feed neighbors in need to university campuses redesigning the systems around how food is served and consumed.