Students at Georgia State can now save money on food and play their part in saving the planet through the OZZI program. This program will allow students to use reusable containers instead of the traditional disposable ones, at Panther’s Club, allowing them to also get 10% off of their meal.
OZZI, according to their website, is a program to eliminate traditional disposable takeout containers with enhanced technology.
“As part of PantherDining Sustainable Initiatives, we wanted to decrease and potentially eliminate the use of disposable products in our retail areas,” Suzanne Paltz, director of PantherDining, said.
After seeing the OZZI program at a food show, the PantherDining team felt that OZZI was the best option in achieving these goals, according to Paltz.
To start using OZZI, students can head to the Panther’s Club on the third floor of Student Center West and ask for a container from the staff working the food station, when they order their food, according to Paltz.
“After the customer finishes their meal, they just need to deposit the container in the OZZI machine located past the cashier stations in Panther’s Club, [and] the machine will dispense a token for them to use the next time they come in and request an OZZI container,” Paltz said.
Through this, students can be both environmentally friendly and save themselves some cash. To reward customers for using the OZZI program instead of disposable containers, customers will get a 10% discount on their food.
The benefits of the OZZI program are already being seen. According to Paltz, the program has already cut down disposable waste by 20%. She said this also aids in the cost of garbage disposal and landfill diversion.
The PantherDining team is thrilled to see the interest in the OZZI program grow as time goes on.
“Ultimately, we would love to have 100% participation with zero disposable waste,” she said. “In the spring, we are taking it one step further and offering a reusable, refillable beverage bottle program as well.”
