Earlier this year, Washington became the seventh state in the US to pass an Extended Producer Responsibility Bill for packaging. The bill, SB 5284—The Recycling Reform Act—was supported by Upstream and civic and elected partners around Washington state, and includes something rarely featured in EPR bills: best practices for reuse.  

In this episode, host Brooking Gatewood digs in with WA State Representative Liz Berry and McKenna Morrigan of the city of Seattle on how this bill got passed, what it means for recycling and reuse systems incentives in Washington State, and what other states can learn from it to start standardizing EPR and normalizing reuse requirements. 

Resources: 

• WA EPR bill 
• Minnesota EPR bill 
• Seven Laws in, How is Reuse Faring in US Packaging EPR?
• The State of EPR Policy in the US
• Embracing Reuse in U.S. Packaging EPR Programs

Get involved:

• Join the Reuse Solutions Network
• Support Upstream to make sure these stories continue to be heard and the reuse economy continues to grow — thank you!

A conversation with Doug Calem and Dan Barash from the Central Ohio Reuse Coalition, Emily Alfred from Reusable Toronto, and Maddie Kaufman from Zero Waste Miami about the on-the-ground work they are doing in their different communities. From fundraising and business collaboration, to work with reuse at venues and businesses, to bridging the gap between all local reuse sectors, these leaders share insights and learnings other community groups can leverage for their own success.

Resources: 

• CORC presentation deck
• Reusable Toronto presentation deck
• Zero Waste Miami presentation deck

Get involved:

• Join the Reuse Solutions Network
• Support Upstream to make sure these stories continue to be heard and the reuse economy continues to grow — thank you!

Upstream’s Sydney Harris is joined by the US Plastics Pact’s Olivia Merritt Fitzgerald and Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s Olga Kachook to discuss the growing drive for reuse among consumer brands. They share the details of two recent reports that map a path for bringing reuse to the retail setting and which product lines are best poised for the switch—plus the USPP’s initiative to turn these findings into action. The key to success? Standardization and pre-competitive collaboration—both of which, our guests are happy to report, are in the works.

Resources: 

• Sustainable Packaging Coalition: Framework for Scaling Reuse
• Closed Loop Partners & US Plastics Pact: Getting Ready for Reuse in Retail
• USPP Retail Reuse Initiative one-pager
• Listeners interested in participating in the US Plastic Pact’s retail reuse initiative should contact Olivia Merritt Fitzgerald: [email protected] 
• Listeners interested in exploring refill models should contact Olga Kachook: [email protected] 
• Upstream: Embracing Reuse in U.S. Packaging EPR Programs
• PR3 Standards
• Episode 88: Setting the Standard for Reuse with PR3
• Episode 180: The Quest for a Universal Reuse Symbol

Get involved:

• Join the Reuse Solutions Network
• Support Upstream to make sure these stories continue to be heard and the reuse economy continues to grow — thank you!

A perennial hot topic in the world of reuse advocacy is reuse and refill in food codes. At a recent meeting of the Reuse Solutions Network (RSN), we tapped some folks with direct experience in the field to share insights about key updates to the federal food code, plus strategies to both update your own state's code—including collaboration, coalition building, education, and stakeholder engagement. Tune into this deep-dive with Kelley Dennings of the Center for Biological Diversity, Charlie Plybon of Surfrider, and Heather Billings of the Center for EcoTechnology, shared with permission here for our broader podcast audience—and check out the link below if you’d like to join the next RSN conversation yourself.

Resources: 

• Kelley Dennings’ Slide Presentation
• Heather Billings’ Slide Presentation
• Links mentioned in the presentations

Get involved:

• Join the Reuse Solutions Network
• Support Upstream to make sure these stories continue to be heard and the reuse economy continues to grow — thank you!

Switching schools to reusable foodware reduces waste and helps teach the next generation that there’s a better way than throw-away — but our team’s research shows dishwasher funding as the #1 one hurdle to transitioning schools. In this episode, we learn how it can be done, with parents, principals, key partners, and in this case, a little policy-making magic, too. Join Monica Campagna of the Glendale Environmental Coalition for this wild story of how one elementary school helped over 300 schools across California get funding to transition to reuse. 

Resources: 

• Glendale Environmental Commission (GEC) - SB 1255
• Commercial dishwashing grant info (2024)
• Plastic Free Restaurants 
• Green Lunchroom Facebook group 
• California Environmental voters  

Get involved:

• Join the Reuse Solutions Network
• Support Upstream to make sure these stories continue to be heard and the reuse economy continues to grow — thank you!

We have the information we need to make positive change—including implementing reuse systems. So how do we get people to act? Host Brooking Gatewood takes a deep dive into the psychology of normalizing reuse and influencing behavior change with experts Jennifer Carrigan and Katie Patrick. From emphasizing the importance of making reuse the default option, to highlighting the power of gamification and social comparison, they discuss how systemic changes influence individual action.

Resources: 

• katiepatrick.com
• Katie’s 4 part podcast series to dig a little deeper 
• TED Talk by Alex Laskey of OPower
• Climate Action Design School
• Grand Canyon Project

Get involved:

• Join the Reuse Solutions Network
• Support Upstream to make sure these stories continue to be heard and the reuse economy continues to grow — thank you!

Last Fall, Upstream kicked off one of the most exciting reuse projects in the country right now, transforming concessions in the South Rim of the Grand Canyon to create the largest reuse system in the US and the first at a national park. Tune in to learn more from Upstream’s Jennifer Carrigan and Madhavi Trikha about this in-process model for open-loop reuse for national parks—and beyond.

Resources: 

• About the Grand Canyon Project
• Rebrand Reuse & Design Standards

Get involved:

• Join the Reuse Solutions Network
• Support Upstream to make sure these stories continue to be heard and the reuse economy continues to grow — thank you!

2025 will go down in history as the year the universal Reuse symbol was born. PR3’s Amy Larkin and design expert Cybelle Jones talk about the power of symbols and the current design initiative calling on creatives to develop a symbol that will help catalyze a cultural shift and normalize reuse around the world. Applications are due May 31 for this chance to be part of history—and part of the PR3 Reuse Standards development process. 

Resources: 

• The Rebrand Reuse Initiative
• PR3 Standards
• Cybelle Jones — SEGD
• Episode 88: Setting the Standard for Reuse with Claudette Juska and Amy Larkin
• Kansas city soccer stadium reusable cup program

Get involved:

• Join the Reuse Solutions Network
• Support Upstream to make sure these stories continue to be heard and the reuse economy continues to grow — thank you!

In this conversation, we dig into how reuse contributes to workforce development and economic opportunity - now and for future generations. Host Brooking Gatewood sits down with Matthew Luisier of r.World, a fast-growing reuse service provider, and Natasha Wayne with Reaching All Minds Academy, a charter school that has taken on the challenge of switching back to reusables as part of its STEM through sustainability educational mission. With recent data showing that reuse creates more and safer jobs than landfills and recycling — we ground this data in the stories of two people helping manage the shift to a reuse economy in very different ways.

Resources: 

• r.World
• Reaching All Minds Academy
• The Role of Reuse in a Just Transition
• Reuse vs Single-use: Economics

Get involved:

• Join the Reuse Solutions Network
• Support Upstream to make sure these stories continue to be heard and the reuse economy continues to grow — thank you!

In the last few years, we’ve seen a big step-up from sports & entertainment venue leaders around the US to build reuse programs for arena and stadium concessions. Christy Briggs, Sustainability Manager for Lumen Field & the Seattle Seahawks and Mary McCarthy, VP of Sustainability for Levy Restaurants – hospitality provider to 350+ major venues – discuss some of the latest developments, next steps, and ongoing challenges when it comes to building a world of entertainment without the waste. 

Resources: 

• Episode 159: A reuse playbook for stadiums
• Upstream’s Wash Hub Map

Get involved:

• Join the Reuse Solutions Network
• Support Upstream to make sure these stories continue to be heard and the reuse economy continues to grow — thank you!