{"id":12027,"date":"2025-03-17T09:08:59","date_gmt":"2025-03-17T14:08:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=12027"},"modified":"2025-03-17T09:08:59","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T14:08:59","slug":"going-green-uwl-celebrates-a-major-sustainability-milestone-with-ozzi","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/going-green-uwl-celebrates-a-major-sustainability-milestone-with-ozzi\/","title":{"rendered":"Going green: UWL celebrates a major sustainability milestone with OZZI"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Photo<\/a>
The OZZI reusable container program was introduced to UWL in 2020, positively impacting the university environmentally and financially.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An initiative at UWL has redefined campus dining while saving 100,000 containers from the landfill \u2014 and counting.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0OZZI<\/a>\u00a0reusable container program at UWL was introduced in 2020, initially funded through a $40,000 grant from UWL\u2019s\u00a0Green Fund<\/a>, a student-led organization, and a subsequent $25,000 Green Fund grant.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The program provides students, faculty and staff with durable, reusable containers for to-go meals, reducing the single-use containers for campus dining. Through the OZZI system, students exchange an “OZZI coin” for a container in the\u00a0dining hall<\/a>, then return it to OZZI machines after use to receive a new coin, creating a seamless, sustainable take-out option.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Avery Black, a sophomore studying recreational therapy, was the 100,000 user of the OZZI containers.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI first started using OZZI containers at UW-Madison,\u201d says UWL sophomore and transfer student Hannah Eitland. \u201cI was so happy to see them used at UWL when I got here! I have not experienced campus dining without OZZI boxes, which I think is a good thing.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In December, UWL celebrated a major sustainability milestone \u2014 the 100,000 use of an OZZI reusable container.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Avery Black, a sophomore studying\u00a0recreational therapy<\/a>, was the 100,000 user of the OZZI containers. Black, like Eitland, has never known campus dining without the reusable containers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been using OZZI since freshman year, and I\u2019ve always thought they were really awesome,\u201d Black says. \u201cI\u2019m a vegetarian myself, so I\u2019m all for sustainability when it comes to food and recycling.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lizzy Haywood<\/a>, associate director for business and dining operations, says student feedback has been the driving force behind the initiative.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe reusable containers were a request from students, and this program fills that request,\u201d Haywood explains. \u201cThis program would not have been possible without the Green Fund and student support.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The program\u2019s environmental impact is noteworthy: with over 100,000 container uses in the past four years, UWL has saved approximately 5,500 pounds of waste from going to landfills.<\/span><\/p>\n

The shift brings significant cost savings as well. Without OZZI, Dining Services would have spent an estimated $38,000 on single-use containers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>Since the last grant in 2020<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>the<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>program has been maintained through purchases of the containers by students and staff.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Due to OZZI, UWL has saved approximately 5,500 pounds of waste from going to the landfill and $38,000 on single-use containers.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThis program truly meets the mark by having a positive environmental impact, providing financial savings and adding function to the dining operation that improves the experience for our students,\u201d says\u00a0Andrew Ericson<\/a>, UWL\u2019s\u00a0sustainability<\/a>\u00a0program manager.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The convenience of OZZI containers is a stand-out benefit for students, staff and faculty who use them. The program adds flexibility to the dining program by essentially expanding the eating locations, explains Haywood.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate how convenient it is that the OZZI machine is available in the dining hall and at Union dining locations,\u201d Eitland adds. \u201cThis allows me to focus on schoolwork instead of planning ahead for meals and worrying about how I’m transporting leftovers. I make less stops at my dorm and carry my OZZI box around with me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As UWL continues to champion sustainability, the OZZI program stands as an example of how student-driven changes can create lasting environmental and financial benefits \u2014 paving the way for a greener future on campus and beyond.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Written by UW-La Crosse<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uwlax.edu\/news\/posts\/going-green\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An initiative at UWL has redefined campus dining while saving 100,000 containers from the landfill \u2014 and counting.\u00a0 The\u00a0OZZI\u00a0reusable container program at UWL was introduced in 2020, initially funded through a $40,000 grant from UWL\u2019s\u00a0Green Fund, a student-led organization, and a subsequent $25,000 Green Fund grant.\u00a0 The program provides students, faculty and staff with durable, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":12030,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[104],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-12027","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-la-crosse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/12027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12027"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=12027"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=12027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}