Take your lunch from the canteen and enjoy it where and when it suits you best – and as sustainably as possible. We have been offering this service in our refectories and cafeterias since 1 February 2022 with the reusable tableware system from Relevo. In one year, we have saved more than 28,000 disposable containers.
The system offers many advantages: Users can use it at no extra charge when they visit the canteen. They download the app onto their smartphone, can simply borrow the dishes and return them to the canteen or any Relevo partner within 14 days. The bowls and cups are made of high-quality plastic, are stable, leak-proof and suitable for reheating in the microwave. They can be used more than 1,000 times. Worn or damaged dishes can be completely recycled.
How is the Relevo system received?
But how has the offer been received so far? In which cafeteria is it used the most? The analysis of the anonymised data shows: There were a total of 28,225 borrowings, an average of 106 per day. The guests mainly used the bowls for lunch, less often the cups for desserts or drinks. Borrowings accounted for 2,8 per cent of all meals sold. The offer was best received in the Mensa Golm: Here, users borrowed reusable dishes almost 10,000 times. Nevertheless, this is only just under 4 per cent of the total number of meals served and shows that the majority of guests prefer to eat on site in the canteen.
Guests and kitchen staff are satisfied with the reusable deposit system. A good start, according to Michéle Paschke, head of the canteens and cafeterias department: "I am pleased that the Relevo system has been so well received. In 2019 alone, over 122,000 paper cups still ended up in the waste in our canteens. With the new reusable tableware system, this is now history and guests can still take food and drinks with them. Borrowing them is very straightforward and the dishes prove to be very durable when used correctly."
A new service has recently been introduced in Potsdam's Kaiser-Friedrich-Straße and Stahnsdorfer Straße housing complexes: Students can order food with the Mensa app "Mensa +" (in german) and pick it up from the vending machine in the dormitory in the evening or on the weekend. The dishes are delivered in Relevo tableware. The dishes can then be returned easily at the same location in a return vending machine.
How to make reusable dishes last even longer
In order for reusable tableware to last as long as possible, it needs to be handled with care. We are pleased when users use cups and bowls in such a way that they can be used for as long as possible. But there is sometimes uncertainty about what is allowed and what is not. Here are a few tips for use:
- Can I heat up the food directly in the reusable dish?
It can be heated in the microwave for a maximum of two minutes at 600 watts. Please remove the lid first. The dishes must not be heated in the oven, as they cannot withstand the high temperatures there.
- Do I have to clean the dishes before returning them?
We clean the dishes. However, it should be roughly cleaned before you return it so that mould does not form – preferably right away with the rest of the washing up by hand or in the dishwasher.
- I don't really want to use Relevo. Can't I just take my coffee in the porcelain cup then?
No, please don't. The porcelain cups are for consumption in the canteen, not as new disposable crockery. In our cafeteria, the crockery always gets legs, especially the cups disappear by the dozen. If you don't want to use the Relevo dishes, you are welcome to bring your own reusable container.
Please send comments, feedback, criticism to verpflegung[at]stwwb.de.de.
