Resources

We did not “ask” for our packaging to be disposable. Why should companies wait for consumers to “ask” for reusable products and packaging?

A significant body of evidence indicates that given the choice, people would choose reusables. Here’s a resource roundup—and another side of the coin.

Learn more about The Reusies 2024.

A recap of the Reuse Solutions Network Q1 meeting on lessons learned from cup fee repeals.

A new report dives deep into the mechanics and potential of Outcomes-Based Waste Prevention (OBWP) to help solve plastic pollution.

How do you get customers to return to a system of reusable containers when they have been trained for years to throw them away when they are finished? Reuse businesses around the world are trying to answer this question.

At its root, the reuse movement is a social and environmental justice movement.

Whether you are a restaurant or school curious to increase your use of reusable foodware, a government department crafting a reuse for onsite dining policy, or a community group eager to organize around less trash, this library is a one-stop resource shop.

With The Reusies in its 4th year, we’ve been reflecting and listening to our communities and networks on ways to improve the program.

Trash pollutes city streets, waterways, parks, and natural ecosystems. It’s clear by now that disposables don’t make any sense. But really – they literally don’t make dollars or cents. Learn why this is and how Upstream is helping transform the food service sector.

Reuse is the future of foodservice—partnerships and policy will get us there.

We sit down with Upstream partner Huskee to learn about their business model and trends they are seeing in the reuse movement.

John Charles Meyer, E.D. of Plastic Free Restaurants, shares insights into running a reuse-focused nonprofit.

We don’t need consumer behavior change, we need systems change, initiated by leading brands.

Upstream staff share key takeaways from GreenBiz’s Circularity 23 conference. The bottom line: change is happening fast, and the time to act is now.

Praising leaders in eliminating single-use products, The Reusies winners were announced at GreenBiz’s Circularity 23 on June 7, 2023

Seattle, WA - Environmental nonprofit Upstream today at GreenBiz Circularity launched an innovative new product: Chart-Reuse™, the industry’s first foodware reuse analytics platform.

Growly Delivers was a reusable growler delivery company in Phoenix that delivered local craft beer and coffee. Author Daniel Velez co-founded it in 2018 and closed it in 2022. Here are 3 things he learned from launching and running a novel reuse company.

Upstream's Priscilla Johnson just returned from GreenBiz’s annual flagship conference – GreenBiz23. Here are three takeaways from the conference.

We are so excited to introduce you to Chart-Reuse™ - the first reuse analytics platform to help food service companies shift from single-use to reuse.

We’re excited to bring you into the conversation about an updated direction for Upstream and what we’re working to accomplish in the world.

Reuse requires rethinking how we deliver and consume. Many food businesses think switching to reusables will significantly increase labor costs, although the actual experiences do not support this view.

Closed Loop Partners released a report this week – Beyond the Plastic Bag: Sparking a Seachange for Reuse – that illustrates reuse innovations in action. And it features two finalists for The Reusies® Most Innovative Reuse Company: GOATOTE and Fill it Forward.

Emerging trends in foodservice have the potential to completely disrupt our current disposable food-service paradigm and replace it with something better.

Upstream CEO Matt Prindiville just returned from GreenBiz’s Circularity Conference. It was a sold-out 3 day affair with more than a thousand sustainability professionals from virtually every consumer brand, plus representatives from the rest of their value chain. Here are three valuable takeaways from the conference.

Reuse services require collection from the consumer, reverse logistics, washing and sanitizing, refilling and/or restocking. Because of the challenges and costs associated for individual companies going it alone, it’s important for businesses to be able to operate on platforms that can serve many companies at the same time.

In honor of Women’s History Month, Indisposable Podcast host Brooking Gatewood presents a roundup of her favorite interviews with some of the many innovative, visionary, women-identified Solutioneers driving the Reuse Movement forward.

In the last month, some BIG brands who have been major players in the throw-away economy made historic announcements about their goals to move to reuse. We recognize that creating financial incentives for returning the packaging will be critical for ensuring that the reusable packaging doesn’t wind up in the garbage or environment.

With fans returning to sporting arenas and concert-goers celebrating the return of music festivals, sustainability issues at events and venues are coming back into focus - specifically, the ever-present disposable plastic cup. Many attempts at solutions have been introduced, from bioplastic to reuse systems and now single-use aluminum cups. But there has been no clear scientific consensus as to which options have the greatest environmental impact and which options have the least - until now.

Trash pollutes city streets, waterways, parks, and natural ecosystems – all at a cost to people and the planet. It’s clear by now that disposables don’t make any sense. But really – they literally don’t make dollars or cents. Learn why this is and how Upstream is helping transform the food service sector from a disposable nightmare to a real and reusable future.