Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Piloting Tech-Enabled Returnable Packaging on Block Island
EPA Contract Number: 68HERC22C0024Title: Piloting Tech-Enabled Returnable Packaging on Block Island
Investigators: Rogers, Alison
Small Business: USEFULL Inc.
EPA Contact: Richards, April
Phase: I
Project Period: December 1, 2021 through May 31, 2022
Project Amount: $100,000
RFA: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I (2022) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
Description:
USEFULL is a tech-enabled circular economy solution designed to eliminate single-use food/beverage products. USEFULL empowers corporations, colleges, and closed loop communities to generate less waste by directly replacing single-use, disposable containers at the beginning of the consumption cycle. We provide our proprietary technology and custom-designed inventory of vacuum insulated stainless steel to-go cups and containers to our partners. Partners then rent the inventory to their consumers. Our returnable containers, enabled with technology, create a circular system. Via the USEFULL app, users can checkout and return our products anywhere within the network. During this Phase I project, USEFULL piloted this program on Block Island, Rhode Island to decrease plastic usage.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
During this pilot project, our team has prioritized our marketing campaign and engaging with cafes and restaurants on the island. One lesson that we learned throughout this pilot is that community-based programs are difficult to implement without some sort of “stick” like a ban on single use packaging. Instead, our efforts have mostly been focused on educating the public and trying to convince some of the locals to change their behavior.
Conclusions:
Community-based implementations of the USEFULL offering are likely best in communities with “bans” on single use packaging.
We plan to continue to engage with cafes and restaurants on Block Island so that they can implement the program in their establishments as well. We have some cafes that are planning to launch the USEFULL program this fall. Since the start of this grant, we not only continued to build the network of cafes and restaurants on Block Island, but we have also created partnerships similar to the one we have with Block Island Conservancy with two other nonprofits that are helping to launch the USEFULL program: CommUnity Reusables and Lex Zero Waste Collaborative. We are also preparing for launches at colleges/universities and corporations this fall, including Carleton College.
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.