I wrote this blog post for Your Student Life to not only share with students about the new reusable coffee sleeves but also to highlight existing sustainability efforts by Dining Services.
The article went through several revisions and back and forth with Dining senior leadership to get more information about sustainability initiatives and to ensure accuracy.
The article was featured on Ohio State Student Life’s homepage as well as in the onCampus Today newsletter to all students.
Along with writing this article, I also shot the photography of the reusable coffee sleeves.
This article is part of the larger reusable coffee sleeves campaign which included social media graphics, website headers, features in the OSU App, Parent and Family newsletter feature and more.
From this article, I was quoted in an NBC4 story about Ohio State Dining Services sustainability efforts, specifically the new reusable sleeves.
“Debbie Wakefield with university dining services said over 429,400 disposable sleeves were used on campus last year alone, creating 6,173 pounds of waste in landfills….Paper sleeves are still free and available on request, but Wakefield said small steps like reusable coffee sleeves can make a difference.”
This came about because of the article on the Student Life website about the reusable sleeves. An NBC4 reporter saw that article, reached out to Student Life, confirmed the facts and wrote their own piece.
Writing internal pieces like Your Student Life articles, it’s hard to know their reach. Maybe it’s only read by students. Or maybe an audience outside of Ohio State is interested. I’m glad that more people will know about these reusable sleeves. Earned media like this wasn’t in my original marketing plan for the reusable sleeves so it’s always a pleasant surprise.
Article Copy:
Your Student Life: Choose to Reuse, Sustainability in Dining
February 4, 2025
When you order a hot drink on campus, you’ll now have the choice to bring a reusable sleeve. If you don’t have a beverage sleeve, you can order a new Script Ohio sleeve on GrubHub, choosing one in either scarlet or white.
Reducing the use of disposable sleeves will help Ohio State continue to lessen waste across dining locations. Last year, over 429,400 disposable sleeves were used on campus, creating 6,173 pounds of waste in landfills. Recent studies have shown that single-use packaging is on track to make up 20% of the world’s carbon budget.
Together as Buckeyes, we can reduce the use of disposable packaging and work toward becoming a Zero Waste campus (with “zero waste” being defined as 90 percent diversion.)
Ohio State Student Life Dining Services is committed to improving sustainability and reducing waste. Along with reusable coffee sleeves, you can use reusable cups at the campus coffee shops not only to reduce your carbon footprint but also save some money. Reusable cups can be used when ordering in-person at the location kiosk.
In the dining halls, students use reusable containers for to-go meals from Traditions at Morrill, Traditions at Kennedy and Traditions at Scott. Switching to reusable containers has saved over 24,142 pounds of trash from going to the landfill in the 2023-24 academic year.
Dining Services uses composting, pulpers as well as biodigesters throughout its locations to manage food waste. The Culinary Production Kitchen even uses a system called Grind2Energy, which operates like a large-scale garbage disposal that transforms food waste into renewable energy.
All of these efforts allow Ohio State to safely divert food waste from the landfill and further reduce our carbon footprint.
Teaming up with Facilities Operations and Development Landscape Services, coffee grounds from various dining locations are used instead of artificial fertilizer in plant beds across campus. This helps to divert almost 1,200 pounds of coffee grounds weekly from the landfill.
Dining Services is taking many steps to be more sustainable and reduce its environmental impact. Students play a big part in sustainability efforts too. The biggest step students can take is to only order and take food that they know they will finish. Much of the food waste comes from leftover food on plates, especially in Traditions.
Other steps students can take to divert waste include disposing of packaging properly. Recycling contamination often occurs when students place compostable materials into the recycle bin. Note that to-go containers cannot be recycled but they are compostable. And now, pizza boxes are recyclable.
Your small choices in sustainability make a big difference at Ohio State. Bring a reusable sleeve next time you enjoy a warm beverage.
Debbie Wakefield
Marketing Specialist
Dining Services
Office of Student Life
Debbie Wakefield 