One year after installing its first on-campus refill dispenser at Cal Poly, Mr. Turtle has grown to 10 machines operating across California, Oregon and Nevada. The company reports it is diverting roughly 20 pounds of plastic from landfills every week.
The machines, developed by three Cal Poly alumni, dispense laundry detergent, dish soap and hand soap directly into customers’ reusable containers. A machine at the Poly Canyon Village Market, installed as part of a partnership with Cal Poly Campus Dining, marks one year of operation this month.
Mr. Turtle was founded by Benjamin Arts who will graduate with a Master of Business Administration this spring; Colin Brown, a 2023 graduate with a degree in economics, and Michael Hennessy, a 2024 graduate with a Bachelor of Business Administration.
The business has two part-timers, computer science major Seth Johnson, 22, of Seattle and business major Cameryn Pina, 21, of Morgan Hill, California.
Arts said the idea came to him after tossing an empty laundry detergent jug and realizing it took up most of the recycling bin. “It felt wasteful,” Arts said, “especially knowing how often people repeat that same cycle.”
Arts pitched the concept at Cal Poly’s Startup Launch Weekend, where he connected with Brown, who led machine construction, and Hennessy, who focused on operations. The team gained traction through Cal Poly’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. The company was a finalist in the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s Small Business Development Center AngelCon and CIE’s Innovation Quest competition in both 2024 and 2025. Arts developed the business through the CIE Hatchery, the university’s on-campus incubator, and continues to work with the CIE SBDC as an active client.
The machines are now dispensing approximately 3,000 fluid ounces of cleaning products each week. There are three in San Luis Obispo, two in Las Vegas and one each in Morro Bay, California; Pismo Beach, California; San Francisco, Silverton, Oregon and Portland, Oregon.
The PCV Market machine is part of a broader partnership with Cal Poly Campus Dining. Melanie Bélanger, the district marketing director overseeing the dining program, said the collaboration aligns with the store’s mission.
“It not only makes sense to include Mr. Turtle in our full-service grocery store, but we’re proud to partner with our alumni students to make a difference beyond our community,” Bélanger said.
Arts said the company plans to continue expanding into grocery stores, laundromats and community spaces, to make plastic-free refills as convenient as conventional shopping.
“Our goal is to make refill more accessible wherever people already shop and do their laundry,” Arts said. “By making refill systems convenient and affordable, we can help significantly reduce single-use plastic waste at scale.”