GOOD TO GO Reusable Container Initiative

Between September 2019 – April 2023, our GOOD TO GO Reusable Container Initiative diverted 257,611 single-use containers from the landfill. With your help, we can increase this number! 

Beginning September 1, 2022, a $0.75 fee was applied to single-use take-out containers in campus food outlets. This decision was endorsed by the University, including the University’s Sustainability Working Group. To meet the university’s climate action objectives while advancing the UN SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, the fee is intended to drive higher participation in the reusable ECO Container Program.

The single-use fee was determined from results of a university sector scan of comparable eco container programs and a campus survey that engaged students, staff, and faculty between November 8, 2021 – April 29, 2022. 54.54% of survey respondents supported a fee introduction, of which 38.8% favoured a proposed rate in the range of $0.75 – $1.00.  

The fees collected in this initiative are intended as cost recovery and not as an additional revenue stream.

*If you don’t have a meal plan, receive a GOOD TO GO container from a cashier at participating locations for a $5 deposit.

 

How it works:  

Swap:  Bring your carabiner to a food counter. Order your meal in a GOOD TO GO container and exchange your carabiner with a staff member.  

Eat:  Receive your meal in a sanitized GOOD TO GO container to take away and enjoy.  

Repeat:  Return your used GOOD TO GO container for a carabiner at a Swap Station to use later or exchange it at a food counter now for a meal in a new container.

Earn rewards for every exchange!

Opt-in

You do not have to be on a meal plan, anyone can opt into the GOOD TO GO Reusable Container Initiative. Receive a GOOD TO GO container from a cashier at participating locations for a $5 deposit.

 

If you are on a meal plan that includes Flex $, you are part of the GOOD TO GO container initiative! 

Residence Students: You will receive your green carabiner in your Residence Move-In Welcome Package. 

Campus Meal Plan holders: You can pick up your green carabiner in the main Hospitality Services Office in Victoria Hall, room E022, and start participating in the GOOD TO GO initiative. **Excludes TAM plans 

*GOOD TO GO containers and carabiners can be returned to receive a credit of $5 Flex $.

FAQ's

Yes! All collected containers are put through commercial sanitization processes where they are washed, rinsed, and sanitized at appropriate temperatures according to public health guidelines. 

No sweat! You can quickly exchange of your used container for a carabiner at a Swap Station in select food locations and at Endaayaan-Tkanonsote, Victoria Hall, and Jean Royce Hall Front Desks. Later, use your carabiner for a new container.

In the mobile app, if the item you are ordering qualifies for a GTG container, you will be prompted to select if you will swap your GTG container/carabiner or agree to pay the $0.75 fee at the cash.

Due to public health requirements, containers not processed through our commercial sanitation process are prohibited. All reusable containers must be processed through our commercial dishwashing system before use. 

All return bins are located behind food counters and service desks. You will directly exchange your container to a staff member by handing it to them.

GOOD TO GO containers are only used in the dining halls if you are getting an EXPRESS to-go meal. Otherwise, our dining halls are dine-in only. 

The reusable GOOD TO GO containers are regularly commercially washed and may show signs of use. If your container has scratches, don’t worry, as normal wear will occur through regular use. 

Yes, you can use your carabiner for soup as part of the G2G initiative. If you want to receive your meal and soup in GTG containers, you will need two carabiners to swap at participating locations. Please note: a $0.75 single use container fee will not apply to soup.

Reducing single-use disposable waste on campus aligns with the University's sustainability goals; the University supports the fee with hopes of engaging high participation rates in the GOOD TO GO reusable container initiative. In a typical year, 400,000 single-use compostable containers end up in waste streams! This year, with your help, we aim to divert 200,000 containers through the initiative.

A Canadian University sector scan of comparable programs and a campus survey that engaged students, staff, and faculty helped inform the cost recovery fee of $0.75. Menu prices exclude the cost of single-use disposable packaging, you are only paying for the single-use container cost when the fee is applied.

Yes! Bring your clean reusable mugs to participating locations, fill them with coffee, tea, or freestyle drinks and receive a $0.25 discount off the regular price.

Most of the 400,000 single-use compostable containers used on campus that end up in waste streams are 6”X9” in size. The 6”x9” GOOD TO GO containers help tackle the largest producer of campus packaging waste. Many of our other menu items are available in paper food wraps that can be placed into the organics bins in retail food locations.

Oct 2, 2020 10:15 am