The Challenge
Reimaging Campus Dining to Eliminate Waste and Student Friction
Pomona College sought to replace single-use containers with a more sustainable solution.
But despite good intentions, its early token-based reuse program struggled to keep up with student demand and operational complexity.
Good Intentions, Poor Returns
Students returned fewer than 60% of containers, creating recurring shortages and waste. Manual tracking and limited return points caused long lines and frustration, while forgotten boxes piled up in dorms. Each term, dining services had to repurchase thousands of containers—undermining the sustainability effort and inflating costs.
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