Case Study: Occidental College achieves 98% container return rates with Topanga ReusePass

With a student pop of <2000, Occidental College is on track to hit their zero-waste goals and see the ROI of their ReusePass reusables to-go program within the first 5 months of launching

Occidental College, a school with fewer than 2000 students, needed to re-launch its lagging reusables program, which suffered from low student participation and unsustainable return rates. To achieve its zero-waste goals, the college partnered with vendor Topanga to implement its trackable ReusePass reusables-to-go program to drive greater student accountability and engagement.

The Topanga team closely collaborated with Occidental on every aspect of the solution, from retrofitting existing containers with tracking tags to designing an optimized operational plan and providing comprehensive staff training and marketing support. This partnership led to exceptional results, including a 98% container return rate, participation from 78% of undergraduates, nearly $10,000 in packaging savings, and over 35,000 containers diverted from landfill. Topanga's ReusePass solution delivered a clear return on investment within the first five months and positioned the college for further zero-waste expansion.

Occidental College

Robert Starec

Associate Director, Campus Dining