Ashland grad's container in use by 200

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An Ashland High School graduate has created a reusable takeout container that is being used at 200 workplaces and universities nationwide — including Southern Oregon University.

Audrey Copeland, 24, created the Eco-Takeout clamshell container after she was inspired by an environmental studies project at Eckerd College in Saint Petersburg, Fla.

"It's just so exciting to see it go from this idea on paper, to being internationally represented, to being in my hometown," she said last week from her home in Pasadena, Calif.

The plastic containers are designed to help colleges or businesses save money and reduce waste, Copeland said.

University officials decided to buy 250 of the containers for the Cascade Dining Area and Stevenson Union as part of their efforts to create a greener campus, said Linda Bahr, the university's general manager of food services.

Students get one container for free, and used containers must be dropped off in the cafeteria to be washed in a high-heat dishwasher, Bahr noted.

Because of replacement and dishwashing costs, Bahr doesn't expect the containers will save the university much money, she said. But it will have an environmental benefit.

"I don't think it's going to save us a dime," she said. "It's just an effort to reduce the amount of biodegradable material in the landfill here."

The containers are sold by G.E.T. Enterprises Inc., a plastic container company, and cost $3 to $5 each wholesale, according to Copeland.

— Ashland Daily Tidings

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