Reduce Single-Use (RSU) is an Eckerd College initiative that was started in 2018 by Dr. Amy Siuda and Dr. Shannon Gowans alongside student interns with the assistance of a grant awarded to the college by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Program (NOAA MDP). Since its inception, the project has aimed to reduce the consumption of single-use plastics to prevent trash in our waters and create more sustainable lifelstyles on campus and throughout the local St. Petersburg community.

The original grant from NOAA MDP allowed the team to implement the Break Free from Plastics Commitment on Eckerd's campus, a pledge that agreed that the college's funds would not be used to purchase any unnecessary single-use plastics. The commitment was originally signed in January 2019 and reinstated in 2023 by President Annarelli. Read more about the Break Free From Plastics Pledge (BFFP) here. 

In 2020, Eckerd and the University of North Florida secured a new NOAA MDP grant, receiving almost $150,000 to expand the Eckerd successes to the University of North Florida. This new grant also involved using a beta-version of an app which allowed users to be accountable for their consumption by recording use and refusal of single-use plastic.

In 2022, Eckerd College was awarded another grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency - Trash Free Waters (EPA-TFW) which allowed the team to hire local app developers to upgrade the app, now known as Remora. Officially launched in April 2023, Remora allows users nationwide to track their single-use plastic uses and refusals. Already, thousands of plastic items have been refused and tracked on the app. The team hopes to use this information to inspire large scale changes in business, policy, and society. 

The Reduce Single-Use team continues to work on various other projects and initiatives on and off campus as well. These include monthly campus cleanups, low-waste DIY classes, and community outreach through tabling efforts. 

Keep up with all of our adventures by following us on Instagram at @eckerdreducesingleuse

 and @getremora.app

Or email us at reducesingleuse@eckerd.edu with any questions.