The call to save turtles, a childhood stuffed toy, and a mission to reduce single-use plastic serve as the three pillars of sustainable startup Mr. Turtle. The local company is creating and installing refillable laundry detergent stations, starting in San Luis Obispo shops.

• Photo Courtesy Of Benjamin Arts
• ROLL OUT Sustainable startup Mr. Turtle's refillable laundry detergent station is made of wood and will soon be found at the SLO Food Co-Op and the Laundromat by Swish and Swirl.

"I take my Tide pod out of my laundry detergent jug, throw my laundry detergent jug [in the] recycling bin—which, as a clarifier, they're not recyclable, is what we now know," Mr. Turtle founder Benjamin Arts said. "Plus, my recycling the jug into the recycling bin instantly fills up my recycling bin. ... That's annoying. Why don't we instead maybe refill this laundry detergent jug?"

Excelling in the Cal Poly Startup Marathon one weekend during last year's fall quarter gave the 22-year-old business administration major $1,000 in seed money to make his refillable laundry detergent station dream a reality.

He pitched his idea to other entrepreneurs and built the Mr. Turtle team with business administration and economics student Colin Brown and current student Michael Hennessy. Arts and Brown recently graduated from Cal Poly.

"We know that we can refill cleaning products as of right now, but realistically, our machine, with the engineering that's been done on it, we can do any liquid good, we can do any dry good," Arts said. "If we find out that this is an easier machine to use, we could definitely branch it to other markets."

Take it from Brown, the team's "YouTube engineer," who built the wooden refill station.

"Colin used to work on a hot dog machine, and when we used to pitch the business, he used to tell people, 'Yeah, and you need to put ketchup in here for your hot dogs,'" Arts said with a laugh.

Far from dispensing ketchup, Mr.Turtle's laundry detergent machine made its debut on Sept. 23 at the Laundromat by Swish and Swirl off California Boulevard in San Luis Obispo. Some customers got to use the machine earlier as part of a trial run.

Within a few weeks, shoppers can refill their detergent at a station inside the SLO Food Co-Op too. The team behind Mr. Turtle eventually hopes to make more such machines with recycled plastics.

"There's a chance that you can lease the machine," Arts said. "You can directly buy the machine from us. You can also place the machine in your store. We currently have a couple of other deals lined up, but we've been very open to kind of accepting most business offerings."

Those interested in learning more about Mr. Turtle can email [email protected].

"If it's in your laundry room and you don't have your laundry detergent, oh, your laundry detergent is now right there, right next to you," Arts said. "You don't have to go to the store."

Fast facts

• Verdin's 24-Hour Give that rebrands nonprofits in 24 hours for free opened the nomination period for community members to pick the next group to receive a makeover. The nomination period closes on Sept. 27 and people can learn more at 24hourgive.verdinmarketing.com. Over the past decade, Verdin's 24-Hour Give donated more than $1 million in services through its work and partner contributions. Some of the nonprofits it's rebranded include Literacy for Life, Meals That Connect, Creek Lands, Stand Strong, and the SLO Food Bank.

• The League of Women Voters of SLO County is partnering with Atascadero AAUW to moderate a forum for candidates for Atascadero City Council on Oct. 7 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The forum will be held at the Atascadero United Methodist Church, 11605 El Camino Real in Atascadero. It will be livestreamed on the AAUW YouTube channel at youtube.com@AtascaderoAAUW and available for later viewing on the League's YouTube channel at youtube.com/@lwvsloco. For more information, contact Leigh Livick at Atascadero AAUW at [email protected] or the League of Women Voters at (805) 242-6990 or [email protected].

• The League of Women Voters of San Luis Obispo County is partnering with the Paso Robles AAUW to moderate a forum for Paso Robles Joint Unified School District (PRJUSD) board of trustees candidates on Oct. 14 from 7 to 8:30 pm. The forum will be held in the school district board room at 800 Niblick Road in Paso Robles. The event will be livestreamed on PRJUSD Broadcasts and available for later viewing on the League's YouTube channel at youtube.com/@lwvsloco. For additional information contact Pat Stevens of the Paso Robles AAUW at [email protected] or the League of Women Voters at (805) 242-6990 or [email protected]. Δ

Reach Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal at [email protected].