From Takeout Trash to Reuse Systems: How MiSBF is Helping Michigan Campuses Rethink Foodware

Un reciente Bridge Michigan article highlights a growing challenge for colleges and universities across the state of Michigan: takeout trash is piling up on campus, and there’s no simple fix.

As students continue to rely on mobile ordering, grab-and-go meals, delivery apps, and flexible dining options, campuses are being pushed to rethink how convenience and sustainability can work together. The issue is not just about choosing a different disposable container. Compostable, recyclable, and fiber-based products can all play a role in certain settings, but they still require the right infrastructure, clear sorting systems, and strong participation to deliver meaningful results. 

For many campuses, the bigger opportunity is reuse – and Michigan Sustainable Business Forum has been helping lead that conversation in Michigan. 

Over the past several years, MiSBF has worked with colleges and universities, dining teams, sustainability staff, local governments, businesses, and food service partners to advance safer, more sustainable foodware systems. Through our EPA-funded Safe & Sustainable Foodware project, campus case studies, webinars, technical assistance, and the Michigan Campus Sustainability Collective, MiSBF has become a key convener and resource for campuses looking to reduce takeout landfill trash and build more circular dining systems.

MiSBF’s recent case studies on colegio esperanza y University of Michigan Dining show how reusable to-go systems can work in very different campus settings, from a liberal arts college integrating reusable containers into meal plans and students IDs, to a large public university scaling reuse across a complex dining environment. MiSBF was also proud to recognize Michigan Dining as a 2025 Michigan Sustainable Business of the Year in the Campus category, in part because of its leadership in advancing reusable takeout systems.

A major part of MiSBF’s role in this space is the Michigan Campus Sustainability Collective, a statewide network that brings campus sustainability professionals together to share ideas, troubleshoot challenges, and learn from one another. Through the Collective, MiSBF has facilitated conversations on reusable foodware, sustainable dining, behavior change, campus engagement, procurement, waste reduction, and implementation barriers. These conversations help campuses move beyond isolated pilots and toward practical, scalable systems.

MiSBF also provides direct support to campuses and partners interested in cutting back on single-use foodware. That support can include connecting campuses with peer examples, sharing case studies and resources, identifying implementation considerations, supporting stakeholder conversations, and helping institutions think through the operational realities of reuse, from return systems and washing capacity to communications, cost, staffing, and student participation. 

The case for reuse extends beyond waste reduction. Reusable foodware can help reduce reliance on single-use packaging, limit landfill trash, support healthier food service environments, and create long-term cost and operational benefits when systems are designed well. As MiSBF has emphasized through its webinars and technical assistance, reuse is not simply a sustainability trend. It is part of a broader shift toward circular, resilient, and healthier food service systems.

The Bridge article makes clear that Michigan campuses are facing real challenges as takeout culture continues to grow. But campuses are not navigating those challenges along. Across the state, MiSBF is helping connect the people, examples, resources, and expertise needed to move from problem awareness to practical implementation.

MiSBF will continue supporting campuses, foodservice providers, local governments, and community partners working to reduce takeout landfill trash and build systems where reuse is easy, accessible, and expected.