More than three months have passed since metal bowls and cups replaced compostable takeout containers at all three of USC’s residential dining halls. 

USC Hospitality, in partnership with reusable container company USEFULL, soft-launched the new bowls and cups Oct. 16 to 18, in hopes of eventually implementing the program full-time.

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According to the University, the initiative aimed to promote sustainability by eliminating unnecessary waste. The program is part of President Carol Folt’s zero waste program. 

The current return policy for container checkout states that students must return the containers at any of the three dining halls within 48 hours of checking them out. Students will incur a $1 fee for each day the containers are not returned past the initial 48-hour period.

So far, the USEFULL takeout containers have prompted mixed reactions from the student body. Some students say they have sanitation concerns and feel inconvenienced by the return system. 

Chris Tian, a freshman majoring in political economy, is a frequent user of the takeout system. While Tian preferred the old compostable container system, he feels indifferent to the new change. 

“I was fined $2 a week ago and was like, ‘Damn,’ but I don’t think it’s that big a deal,” Tian said. “I would probably say the old [containers] were better because you didn’t have to return them.”

Despite his criticism of the return policy, Tian said he likes that the new metal cups are larger than the old compostable ones.

Concerns surrounding cleanliness have also deterred some students from utilizing the takeout system. Richa Misra, a freshman majoring in computer science, hasn’t used the takeout system at all since the University implemented the change.

“If we’re gonna be reusing the same containers, I would want to wash them myself,” Misra said. “There’s a little bit of a sanitary concern.”

The University promises all containers are cleaned and sterilized by the dining hall team after every use. Despite this promise, Misra said she still feels uneasy about eating from food containers that have been previously used by others. 

While Misra expressed sanitation concerns, she also said the containers are a sustainable option. In a statement to the Daily Trojan, Gary Marschall — director of campus dining — wrote about the program’s environmental impact. “Environmental impact estimates provided by USEFULL show that the program has diverted more than 3,000 pounds of waste from landfill and saved 90,000 gallons of water,” wrote Marschall. 

“We will continue to evaluate the program’s performance over the next 15 months. We are committed to providing environmentally conscious dining options for the USC community.”

Marschall also said more than 35,000 containers have been checked out from the dining halls over the past three months, with a return rate of 99%.

Since the pilot program is still only in its third test month out of 18 total, students will have to wait and see whether the USEFULL containers are here to stay.