Refill & Renew: A Sustainable Pilot Event with Wonderfil
Thursday, April 24, 2025
10:00am — 3:00pm
Otter Student Union, 2nd Floor
In collaboration with Basic Needs, Student Housing & Residential Life, and Wonderfil, we're excited to offer a FREE refill station for essential personal hygiene items. This pilot event aims to gauge the feasibility and interest in establishing a permanent, sustainable refill amenity on campus, potentially utilizing Wonderfil's innovative technology.
Wonderfil is a women-owned, California-based company, and a leader in autonomous refill station technology. Wonderfil aims to reduce plastic waste by enabling students to refill daily use products on campus.
What's available for refill?
- Shampoo
- Laundry Detergent
- Dr. Bronner’s All-Purpose Soap
- Everyone Moisturizing Hand/Body Wash
(Products are sourced from sustainable, primarily California-based manufacturers, ensuring high-quality, natural ingredients.)
Wonderfil's research indicates that students spend an average of $36 per month on these types of products and are concerned about the waste generated by single-use plastic bottles. This pilot event will help us understand if a semesterly refill program would benefit our student community.
Come refill, renew, and contribute to a greener, more sustainable CSUMB, and learn about the potential of bringing a Wonderfil refill station to campus!
Wonderfil, PBC is a women-owned, certified CA small business based in Scotts Valley, California. Founded in 2021 in Santa Cruz by Amelia Eichel, a sustainability leader with a circular economy background, and UCSC Alum Shiloh Sacks, an electrical engineer with EV and hardware expertise, Wonderfil's mission is to systematically reduce plastic waste by enabling college students to refill their daily-use products on campus.
Wonderfil began developing their autonomous refill station technology after receiving a Carbon Fund grant from UCSC and a Tech For Social Good Grant from CITRIS & The Banatao Institute in 2021. In 2022, the company launched prototypes at UC Santa Cruz, UC Berkeley, and Ethos Low Waste Store, testing hardware reliability and gathering user feedback. These pilots attracted further funding from Berkeley SkyDeck, Dr. Bronner’s, and The Westly Foundation which fueled further product development and testing.
In January 2024, Wonderfil became the first company to achieve Weights & Measures certification for a container- and viscosity-agnostic refill device. This milestone enabled a five store retail launch with Whole Foods Market in the Bay Area and the deployment of Wonderfil’s autonomous refill vending machines. Wonderfil has also been supporting refills for the UCSC community at Redwood Free Market for two years.
With >99% uptime, Wonderfil Refill Stations have prevented over 10,000 plastic bottles from entering the waste stream. As the market leader in refill technology, Wonderfil offers 100% circular liquid and cream product distribution through its innovative intermediate bulk pouch solution. These bulk pouches are compatible with existing supply chains, enable fast restocking of the Wonderfil machines, and are 93% cheaper than single-use plastic bottles. These operational efficiencies enable Wonderfil to pass cost savings to users and make refilling more affordable than purchasing single-use alternatives.
Wonderfil’s suppliers are some of the top sustainable consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers in the country. We prioritize suppliers that manufacture in California with certified organic and fair trade ingredients. This enables us to minimize the carbon footprint and distance shipped of the products that we dispense. We will never dispense products with known carcinogens, allergens, or endocrine disruptors.
Brand Name Products Key Benefits Dr. Bronner’s 18-in-1 Castile Soap, Peppermint Scent - Certified Organic
- Fair Trade
- No harsh chemicals
- Concentrated, one product for several uses
- Manufactured in CA
- Family owned & operated
Everyone for Every Body 3-in-1 Soap, Citrus Mint Scent - All natural ingredients
- No harsh chemicals
- Manufactured in CA
- Formulated for diverse hair types
Rustic Strength Laundry Detergent, Unscented - All natural ingredients
- No harsh chemicals
- Manufactured in CA
Wonderfil's Private Label Shampoo, Vanilla Scent - All natural ingredients
- No harsh chemicals
- Manufactured in CA
- Formulated for diverse hair types