For the past two years, the Ann Arbor-based nonprofit Live Zero Waste has been on a mission to promote sustainability through its returnable container program for zero-waste takeout. The program allows customers to order carry-out from participating restaurants in reusable containers instead of disposable packaging. After use, customers can return the containers to participating businesses where the containers are then cleaned and reused.
Founded in 2015 by brother-sister duo and U-M alums Samuel and Lydia McMullen, Live Zero Waste provides information and resources to those interested in adopting a zero-waste lifestyle. After Ann Arbor’s Office of Sustainability and Innovations developed a plan for a pilot program, Live Zero Waste started running the reusable container program in February 2021. The returnable containers program also contributes to Ann Arbor’s A2ZERO plan to reach community-wide carbon neutrality by 2030.
Samuel McMullen told The Michigan Daily he believes the reusable container program has mostly been successful in reducing waste and promoting sustainability.
“I think this is a really exciting project,” McMullen said. “I think for a lot of people … this will be the beginning of a conversation and the start of a road to larger discussions (about sustainability).”
A recent study conducted by U-M researchers found that if even a small percentage of customers make extra car trips to return their reusable containers, the program could contribute more greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere than single-use containers. Because Ann Arbor is a walkable city, with 15% of employees walking to work on a daily basis, Samuel McMullen said he still believes the program may function well without creating additional emissions.
“(We have) a handful of restaurants that are super committed, and a handful of customers that are super committed to doing (the returnable containers program), which is great,” McMullen said. “It’s a really good start and … it’s proof of concept for certain things.”
Businesses currently participating in the program include Zingerman’s Deli, Ginger Deli, El Harissa and Cinnaholic. Samuel McMullen said the returnable container program offers consumers a tangible way to reduce their carbon footprint.
“One of the places we see a lot of waste come up is in food packaging, and typically takeout packaging,” McMullen said. “The program started at a handful of restaurants and continues to operate at a handful of restaurants with no fee for the service to the restaurants (and) no fee to the consumers.”
Live Zero Waste recently partnered with the Environmental Consulting Organization at the University of Michigan, which has been helping with marketing and outreach efforts. LSA sophomore Gavin Lichtenberg, a project manager at ECO-UM, told The Daily he was excited to work with Live Zero Waste because it aligns with his organization’s mission.
“Generally, we work with sustainably-oriented organizations whose pillars surround sustainability and we work to improve their operations,” Lichtenberg said. “In that same vein, we work with different organizations who are looking to transition into more sustainable practices.”
Yusef Houamed, manager and co-founder of El Harissa, told The Daily he was excited to participate in the program, especially as the restaurant continues to bounce back from primarily serving takeout during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“During the pandemic, we, — and most other restaurants — had to double down on our most wasteful practices,” Houamed said. “We pivoted to exclusively takeout until just recently, and so the amount of containers and single-use plastics we were using skyrocketed … So it was just kind of serendipitous that (Live Zero Waste) reached out to us; I jumped at the opportunity. Now, for the past two years, we’ve been working on making this a real thing, a citywide thing.”
Evelyn Patrell-Fazio, head of business management and sustainable development at Ginger Deli, told The Daily she believes Ann Arbor is an ideal site to pilot the program.
“We had a lot of belief that (the program) could be used really effectively, especially in Ann Arbor, just because the community is so primed and ready for this type of circular economy program,” Patrell-Fazio said. “Especially since we have such a large and very vibrant local food movement in Ann Arbor.”
Patrell-Fazio said she has noticed that while customers seem excited about the idea of the program getting people to participate can be difficult.
“We have a lot of interest, but I think where it’s hard is a lot of the people who are interested in learning more about it, it’s not necessarily a given that they’re going to then use the program,” Patrell-Fazio said. “That’s kind of the disconnect that I think we’re struggling with the most right now.”
Doug Moeller, owner of the Ann Arbor location of Cinnaholic, told The Daily their customers are not as interested in trying out the program as he had originally hoped.
“It’s a mixed reaction,” Moeller said. “I think people are (excited) once you explain it to them, but initially, if you don’t explain it to them, they are worried about ‘What if I lose it? Do I really have to bring it back?’ They’re worried about that stuff, but once you explain how a (the) program works, they’re interested.”
According to Jennifer Santi, marketing and communications director at Zingerman’s Deli, the Deli has had a similar experience as the other businesses participating in the program. While some customers have started using the program, Santi told The Daily raising community awareness about the program has been challenging.
“Customers do really like the program, and we’ve used it in a couple of different ways in our business,” Santi said. “Where we’ve struggled is to try to get people to choose the program without our asking or to raise awareness in the community in general so that more people are using the program across a variety of businesses.”
Despite these challenges, Samuel McMullen said Live Zero Waste remains hopeful about the future of their returnable container program. In the next few months, he said the program is set to expand to its next stage, which will be focused on collecting community input.
“We’re on a three-year timeline with the (returnable container) project right now,” McMullen said. “In the next couple of months, we’re going to be doing public engagement and figuring out … what people are thinking about all these ideas that we’ve had in a vacuum.”
Daily Staff Reporters Mary Corey and Emma Spring can be reached at mcorey@umich.edu and sprinemm@umich.edu.