The Indisposable Podcast®

The Plastic Free Pharmacy Nov 07, 2024

Innovation in healthcare is no easy feat, as we learn in this conversation with Russell Gong, Co-founder and President of Cabinet Health. The fast-growing B-Corp on a mission to eliminate single-use plastic in medicine is starting by confronting the challenge of billions of disposable plastic pill bottles used annually in this country, with first-in-class models for reusable and refillable bottles. Russ and Brooking talk shop about the challenges, opportunities, metrics and more for getting plastic out of medicine.

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cabinethealth.com

Unstoppable community organizing Oct 24, 2024

Plastic Free MKE (Milwaukee) leaders Leah Holloway of Milwaukee Riverkeeper and Meenal Atre of the Urban Ecology Center share the story of this city-level coalition’s success in reducing plastic pollution in a state that doesn’t allow for policies banning “auxiliary containers” (e.g. plastic packaging). From loophole-focused policy wins to a Lake Friendly dining program, the insights from our guests are a great primer for anyone interested in starting a reuse coalition in their community.

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Bans on bans Oct 10, 2024

The Conservative States & Provinces group—a subgroup of the Reuse Solutions Network— brings together advocates from areas where it is harder to pass policy so they can share and troubleshoot ways to advance reuse despite the obstacles. And one major barrier folks living in conservative states often face is preemption, aka “bans on bans.” If a town wants to pass a Skip the Stuff ordinance, for instance, a state with certain pre-emption laws could override it. This is a reality that impacts many living in more conservative jurisdictions and directly hinders the ability to pass local policy on plastics and packaging.

This discussion from a recent meeting of the Conservative States & Provinces subgroup covers preemption more broadly and its implications for reuse policy; how it looks in different states; strategies for challenging it; and lessons learned from experienced panelists: Randy Moorman of Eco-Cycle in Colorado, Emma Haydocy of Surfrider in Florida, and Jeremy Drake of MT Plastic Free Missoula in Montana.

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Connecting dots for circularity Oct 03, 2024

Host Brooking Gatewood sits down with Jessica Gonzalez, founder of Happen Ventures, to talk about their creative reuse business logistics services that solve waste problems, support communities, and creates a new climate-conscious business niche in the circular economy. From redistributing truckloads of unused PPE headed for the trash to connecting amputees to single shoes from display windows, learn about some scrappy match-making between excess product and unexpected markets that has diverted over 80,000 tons of usable products from landfill to date.

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Changing lives with reuse Sep 26, 2024

Hear the inspiring story of Maryland Department of Aging’s Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Reuse Program, one of the winners of the 2024 Reusies Community of the Year Award. Program director Ian Edwards sits down with host Brooking Gatewood to share their recipe for success in reusing wheelchairs, walkers, hospital beds and more in Maryland—and how other states can follow suit to improve lives while saving money, carbon, and landfill waste.

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Reuse to-go goes back to school Sep 19, 2024

Post Landfill Action Network (PLAN) has been cooking up some serious systemic change strategies for college campus reuse programs. As a follow up to last Fall’s episode 140, we check in with Atlas Program staff Lisa Smart plus students Abby White and Katin Kendrana to talk about the latest developments in this long-term strategic initiative to transform reuse in campus dining across the country.

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Making repair mainstream (again) Sep 12, 2024

When Leslie Bateman left New York City, she was shocked to discover how hard it was to find shoe repair in her new town. A new business, Coblrshop, was born when she met business operations maven Emily Watts, and together they set out to modernize how cobblers and customers connect. Join us for a candid chat about the challenges and joys of building the leather repair start-up that, less than two years into operations, impressed our Reusies Judges enough to land the win for Most Innovative Company in Fashion & Apparel at The Reusies 2024.

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The keys to a reuse revolution Sep 05, 2024

Christiana Dujardin, who works within the Materials & Circular Economy Platform at Systemiq, served as lead analyst on a 2023 Ellen MacArthur Foundation report all about returnable reusable packaging and its economic and environmental impact compared to single-use, called Unlocking A Reuse Revolution - Scaling Returnable Packaging. She sits down with guest host, Upstream’s Policy Director Sydney Harris, to share key insights from the report on how we might design a returnable packaging system that can compete economically, environmentally and experientially with single-use.

Resources:

Unlocking a Reuse Revolution - paper overview and download
Reuse Solutions Network meeting summary
Join the Reuse Solutions Network
Systemiq

Reuse, Climate & Environmental Justice Aug 29, 2024

How are reuse, climate change, and environmental justice related? In intricate and myriad ways, it turns out—which guests Holly Kaufman of the Plastics & Climate Project, circular economy expert Rich Grousset, and Jo Banner of the Descendants Project explore in depth in this recording of the summer Reuse Solutions Network (RSN) meeting.

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Persistence + Data = Change Aug 22, 2024

Learn about the growth and evolution of a small community group that is a force for change in Upstate New York—taking on issues from artificial turf to BYO campaigns, to Skip the Stuff legislation. It is this latter action that spurred Yayoi Koizumi, founder of Zero Waste Ithaca and co-founder of BYO-US Reduces, to contact Upstream for help in making the case for Skip the Stuff. Leveraging our powerful software tool, Chart-Reuse, we were able to crunch the numbers to create localized data and show that, for example, $32000 could be saved in waste hauling and 350 tons of trash prevented from landfills if foodservice businesses refrained from handing out unnecessary single-use utensils, napkins, straws, etc. Yayoi and guest host Cerise Bridges discuss the power of good data in influencing businesses and legislators—plus insights into the ongoing barriers and challenges in making change.

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A Vision for Implementing Reuse Aug 15, 2024

Upstream CEO Crystal Dreisbach sits down with host Brooking Gatewood to talk about her first year on the job, about Upstream’s strategic vision refresh, and some exciting new tools and model projects in the works to help build infrastructure and normalize reuse in the years to come.

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The 2.0 of bottled H2O Jul 25, 2024

Host Brooking Gatewood sits down with Manuela Zoninsein, the CEO & Founder of Kadeya, winner of the Most Innovative Company in the Food and Beverage category for the 2024 Reusies. Learn the secret to Kadeya’s 99% bottle return rate, and how their patented closed-loop beverage system can eliminate single-use bottles forever while saving GHGs, eliminating threats from microplastics and unstable supply chains, and increasing worker hydration.

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The “secret sauce” to scaling circular systems Jun 20, 2024

Upstream was recently at GreenBiz’s Circularity 24 conference in Chicago, where as part of The Reusies, we organized a special panel discussion on the “secret sauce” to scaling circular systems. Bringing together thought leaders from multiple corners of the reuse and circular economy movement, Upstream’s CEO Crystal Dreisbach engaged panelists in a rich discussion about the key ingredients to make reuse an irresistible dish. Tune into this recording to learn from Caroline Vanderlip, Founder & CEO at Re:Dish; Elizabeth Balkan, Director of ReLoop North America; Jennie Romer, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Pollution Prevention at the US EPA; and Nicole Cerroni, VP of Sustainability at L’Oreal.

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From cafeteria to community: students launch reuse Jun 13, 2024

When you hear the expression “the kids are alright,” it’s referring to Sophie Horvath and Joshua Swift-Rawal, students at Berkeley High School in California. The friends noticed that a lot of their favorite restaurants were using single-use products, despite new reuse laws in their city, and they decided to do something about it. They started a project to launch a reusable container pilot at their school, with a vision of expanding city-wide. Sophie and Josh share how they navigated working with city and school officials to make the case for reuse, lessons they learned, and inspiring insights to help others bring reuse to their schools and communities.

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A reuse playbook for stadiums Jun 06, 2024

Stadiums are high-leverage anchor venues for developing reuse ecosystems in metro areas. With around 350 million fans attending sports and other large-venue events each year in the US—and using approximately 3 billion single-use items—the social and business cases for shifting to reuse are becoming increasingly clear. The Green Sports Alliance has worked with key venues and implementation partners to create the new Reuse Playbook, launching in June 2024—to share best practices, key considerations, inspiration, and lessons learned for anyone looking to make reuse happen at scale in their cities. Listen in to learn more from Michael Kraus of Green Sports Alliance, Brittany Saulsbury of the Portland Trail Blazers, and Jocelyn Quarrell of Bold Reuse.

Resources:

Green Sports Alliance Playbooks
Portland Trail Blazers/Rip City Reuse
Bold Reuse
Episode 156: Reuse Rockstars
Episode 81: Reuse for the Win! Reducing Waste in Sports
Indisposable Live: Reuse Wins at Events

Toward A Global Plastics Treaty May 30, 2024

Join us as we navigate the ins and outs of the negotiations for a global plastic pollution treaty with Jamala Djinn, Policy Advisor for Break Free From Plastic, and Rachel Radvany, Environmental Health Campaigner for the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL). These stalwart strategists have been involved in all four of the “INC” (Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee) meetings since 2021, including the most recent in Canada. They sit down with host Brooking Gatewood to talk about the challenges and possibilities in the treaty process—and how we can all make a difference in this historic effort.

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Championing DEI & Emerging Leaders May 16, 2024

With a background and passion for youth mentorship and career development, Bryan Lewis leads GreenBiz.org’s Emerging Leaders program, which aims to elevate, cultivate and support the next generation of BIPOC leaders in the climate community. The Emerging Leaders will be featured at Circularity 24 in Chicago, where Bryan will also be emceeing the fourth annual reuse awards, The Reusies. In this special episode, guest host, Upstream’s Chief Marketing Officer Vanessa Tiongson, sits down with Bryan to talk about the importance of empowering the next generation of diverse leaders, the need for more underrepresented young professionals to connect with leaders in the sustainability industry, and the necessity of a just transition to a sustainable future.

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Reuse Rockstars May 02, 2024

From Hollywood sets to festival stages, this conversation with Dianna Cohen and Annie Rothschild Farman of Plastic Pollution Coalition is filled with inspiring examples of how all-star and up-and-coming artists, event planners, and activists are working together to change culture and reduce plastic pollution and waste at events. A great listen for touring musicians, festival goers, and beyond.

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Pioneering reuse in Banff Apr 18, 2024

The Town of Banff, located in Canada’s first National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site, receives over 4 million visitors each year and has no landfills or recycling facilities—presenting both unique opportunities and challenges to achieving the Town’s goal of moving toward zero waste. In 2023, they passed a pioneering Single-Use Item Reduction Strategy & Bylaw (for which they won a Community of the Year award at The Reusies) requiring reusables for on-site dining as well as a strategy focused on reduction and reuse tailored to their unique tourism-based context. Learn from Environmental Coordinator Carla Bitz about the grassroots efforts that led to passage of this law, how it’s going, and what others can learn from Banff’s example. Plus, check out the Reuse for Onsite Dining Library linked in the resources that we hope will help other advocates pass similar laws in their community!

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Tips for reuse advocates Mar 07, 2024

The coalition Reusable LA has been actively advocating for a number of years on several policies pertaining to waste reduction and plastic pollution, including the switch to reuse for onsite dining. Upstream's Macy Zander interviews Reusable LA's co-leads, Alison Waliszewski of 5 Gyres and Emily Parker of Heal the Bay, to hear their key tips for advocates working on this topic.

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Back to basics: defining “reuse” Feb 22, 2024

Even as we see increased momentum behind EPR, DRS and other policies involving reuse, the definitions of “reuse” are scattered and often ill-conceived. Now is the time to properly define reusable packaging—and especially differentiate between returnable and refillable packaging—in the policy context.

Tune into this re-cast of Indisposable Live® (Upstream’s livestream series) to learn from Zero Waste Europe’s Nathan Dufour about the recommendations outlined in ZWE’s Packaging Refill vs. Packaging Prevention report, as well as from Oceana’s Matt Littlejohn about global examples of reuse at scale. Upstream’s Policy Director and discussion moderator Sydney Harris explains the different types of reuse, offers some do’s and don’ts within the policy landscape, and shares Upstream’s own recommended definition of reuse—in hopes of moving us all forward in passing truly effective reuse policy.

Resources:

Zero Waste Europe: Packaging Refill vs Packaging Prevention
Oceana: Refill Again report
Takeaway summary, video recording, and full roundup of resources mentioned

The Latest Science on Plastic Alternatives Feb 01, 2024

Dr Lisa Erdle of the 5 Gyres Institute sits down with host Brooking Gatewood to talk about 5 Gyre’s recent Better Alternatives 3.0 report, covering their latest research into how well “compostable” and “biodegradable” plastics break down in various environments, potential pitfalls, promising contenders, and the role of smart material science and composting infrastructure as we transition toward a reuse economy.

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Urban planning for reuse Dec 14, 2023

Learn about some of the most innovative reuse design work happening today with Ellie Moss and Dr. Dagny Tucker, the co-founders of Perpetual. Just two years in, Perpetual is laying foundations for long-term systems change to implement reusable foodware infrastructure in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Hilo, Hawaii; Galveston, Texas; and Savannah, Georgia. They share key early insights about sustainable city-scale reuse planning, funding, and more.

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Envisioning a Just Transition toward Reuse, #2 Dec 07, 2023

Listen in for our second discussion in this series on a Just Transition and its implications for the reuse economy—featuring highlights from a recent Alternative Economy report put out by the Center for Biological Diversity plus the INC-3 meetings in Nairobi. Guests Marcel Howard and Jessica Roff from the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives and Kelley Dennings with the Center for Biological Diversity provide deep insight into the importance of language; the models for regenerative economies that exist right now; what they are excited about for the near future—and more.

Resources:

Center for Biological Diversity report: Alternative Economies: Uplifting Activities For A Sustainable Future
Center for Biological Diversity
GAIA
Plastic Free Future
Break Free From Plastic
INC-3
Society of Native Nations
Center for International Environmental Law

Envisioning a Just Transition toward Reuse Nov 30, 2023

A Just Transition to reuse focuses on putting people and planet first — so simple in theory, and not at all easy in practice. But we can all help amplify the stories that spotlight green jobs and best practices for a transition that include those who have been most marginalized by our throw-away economy. Listen in for a rich discussion with Brett Nadrich from Break Free From Plastic, Marcel Howard from the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, and Adoma Addo with the Center for Biological Diversity (now with Milken Institute)—originally recorded as part of a Reuse Solutions Network meeting in August, 2023. And stay tuned for next week’s follow-up episode on this nuanced topic.

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“Living & learning” with Plastic Free Restaurants Nov 16, 2023

Did you know? Just $28 worth of stainless steel forks can wipe out 5040 of their single-use counterparts in a school cafeteria. That’s how, one dollar at a time over the last 3 years, Plastic Free Restaurants has eliminated 9 million pieces of plastic from dining institutions around the country. Executive Director John Charles Meyer inspires us with this progress while being candid about the challenges of running a non-profit that subsidizes schools and restaurants to switch to reuse.

When we first chatted with John Charles, things were just getting going again after Covid lockdowns, and momentum around reuse and reuse policy has really taken off since then. Guest host, Upstream’s Macy Zander, welcomes him back to see what lessons he’s learned, what trends he’s seeing, and how we can all work together to move reuse forward.

Resources:

Plastic Free Restaurants
Guest article by John Charles Meyer: 3 Lessons from Launching & Running a Reuse Non-Profit
Episode 94: Making restaurants more reusable
Rethink Disposable
Ahimsa
1% for the Planet

A city-wide case study for reuse Nov 09, 2023

Host Brooking Gatewood sits down with some of the leaders of Reuse Seattle, which won The Reusies 2023 Community Action of the Year “Building Reuse” award. Zero Waste thought leaders McKenna Morrigan of Seattle Public Utilities and Moji Igun of Blue Daisi consulting walk us through the systemic approach the city has taken to build reuse into everyday life in Seattle—from a public BYO campaign and start-up funding for businesses switching to reuse, to model policies and zero waste beer gardens at major music events, and more. Tune in to learn about this inspiring case study for all cities looking to make throw-away go away.

Also check out episode 93 for Matt Prindiville’s conversation last year with two other Reuse Seattle visionaries in this effective public-private collaboration, Pat Kaufman at Seattle Public Utilities and Stephanie Thomas of Cascadia Consulting.

Resources:

Reuse Seattle
The Reuse Solutions Network
The Reusies
Episode 93: Coalition Building in Seattle
An educational handout for coffee shops
Reuse Wins at Events
r.World (formerly r.Cup)
Bold Reuse
Upstream’s Policy Tracker

Championing reuse in healthcare Nov 02, 2023

The healthcare worker’s mandate of “first, do no harm” should make reducing single-use waste in medical facilities a no-brainer. But as Dan Vukelich, President of the Association of Medical Device Reprocessors, illuminates—the sector with health at its heart is also a top polluter. Dan has made an impactful 20+ year career of providing hospital managers and policy makers with the tools to reduce costs, waste, and greenhouse emissions through the safe reuse of "single-use" medical devices. And it will come as no surprise to anyone working to foster reuse in any sector that his data shows medical device reuse is hands-down better for people, the planet, and the bottom line.

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20 Years of Upstream Oct 26, 2023

Upstream, née the Product Policy Institute, was founded on October 27th, 2003. Twenty years later, as the reuse movement continues to grow, Upstream’s COO & Chief Friendmaker Julie Lamy sits down with our longest standing board member, David Stitzhal—a.k.a Stitz—to reminisce and look ahead. From Upstream’s roots focused on packaging policy, to our pivots during Covid, to the increasing, global focus on reuse—Stitz shares his insights on working “upstream” both with the organization and in the broader movement.

Resources:

Blog: The chef taking trash out of school lunch
Podcast: Coalition Building in Seattle with Pat Kaufman
Livestream: The safety and future of reuse
How Upstream & the Reuse Movement Began

“3 Rs” of Fashion: Repair, Renew, Resell Oct 19, 2023

Host Brooking Gatewood sits down with leaders from The Reusies 2023 Most Innovative Fashion & Apparel Company, The Renewal Workshop by Bleckmann. Nicole Bassett, co-Founder of The Renewal Workshop (TRW) and now Circularity Lead at Bleckmann—which acquired TRW in 2022—and Chief Business Development Officer Jurrie-Jan Tap discuss the history and exciting future of this successful clothing renew-and-resell program. Listen in to learn about how Bleckmann is helping surmount challenges and scale reuse for the apparel industry.

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The real solution to plastic pollution Oct 12, 2023

Upstream Policy Director and this episode’s guest host, Sydney Harris, sits down with Judy Hilton, a reuse and sustainability consultant and researcher, and co-author of the recent groundbreaking report Making Reuse a Reality: A systems approach to tackling single-use plastic pollution. The report came about as a collaborative effort between Break Free From Plastic and the University of Portsmouth’s Global Plastics Policy Centre (which Judy helped develop). It outlines the stages which will enable the transition away from single-use plastic so reuse systems can scale and was presented at this spring’s Global Plastics Treaty negotiations in Paris, INC-2. The report makes the case that the Treaty presents a key opportunity to set out the foundations of reuse systems. Learn more as Sydney and Judy dive deep on Judy’s research and what it implies for reuse policy, standards, and more.

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Re:Dish built it, here they come Oct 05, 2023

Host Brooking Gatewood talks shop with Caroline Vanderlip, Founder and CEO of Re:Dish, one of the hottest new businesses for reuse and game-changing innovation this year. With award-winning design for warewashing machines and software, Re:Dish works with companies, municipalities, schools, venues, and more to help scale reuse, one city at a time. Tune in to learn more about their business model, early hurdles, and dreams for growth.

Resources:

Re:Dish website
The Reusies®
Podcast: The ABCs of reuse in K-12 schools
White paper: Infrastructure to scale the New Reuse Economy

How US bottle bills are accelerating reuse Oct 03, 2023

Fifty years of data on deposit return system (DRS) laws (or “bottle bills”) in the U.S. demonstrate that these programs effectively boost collection and recycling rates, create opportunities and jobs in local economies, prevent roadside litter and plastic pollution, and catalyze reuse.

What is the importance of reuse in DRS, and how can DRS policies incorporate the latest thinking on reuse solutions, funding, and incentives?

Learn more about this and recent policy wins across the country in our latest installation of Indisposable Live: How US Bottle Bills are Accelerating Reuse.

Special guest panelists include Susan Collins, President of the Container Recycling Institute; Sarah Nichols, Sustainable Maine Director at the Natural Resources Council of Maine; and Peter Spendelow, Natural Resource Specialist at Oregon Dept of Environmental Quality. They will showcase the distinct ways that California, Oregon, and Maine have begun to incorporate reuse/refill into their bottle bills.

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A higher education in reuse Sep 28, 2023

In this installment of our Back to School Series, we head to college dining halls with Alex Freid, Founder & Director of Atlas Zero Waste Strategy at Post-Landfill Action Network. Alex and Brooking talk with two student leaders from Atlas’ fellowship program—Emily Johnson from the University of Wisconsin Madison, and Kailei Wedge at the University of New Hampshire— about their hands-on learning experiences and what they are doing to surmount some of the biggest challenges of switching to reuse, on campus and beyond.

Resources:

www.postlandfill.org/atlas
The Indisposable Podcast episode #32: Students can be teachers, too

The ABCs of Reuse in K-12 Schools Sep 21, 2023

As part of our back to school series, this episode focuses on how K-12 schools are re-learning reuse, featuring Sasha Palmer and Rebeca Salguero of Brookline Massachusetts Public Schools, and Ben Schleifer of the Center for Environmental Health Food Program. They sit down with host Brooking Gatewood to dig into the Why, the How, and the lessons learned in making throw-away go away from school lunches.

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Student Solutioneers Sep 07, 2023

To kick off a new “back to school” series, we begin with the student perspective – those who will be, and in many ways already are, leading the reuse movement. Host Macy Zander sits down with Bay Area high school students Amanda Yu (Stanford Online High School), Kaavya Baliga (Menlo School), and Eileen Liu (Menlo-Atherton High School), who are each deeply involved in reuse and sustainability efforts at their schools and in their communities.

If the stories of their successes and challenges sound familiar, it’s because they’re doing work that is just as impactful and sophisticated as anyone else in the space – building coalitions, working with elected officials to pass legislation, and educating others on why it’s so important that we take action now. Hear what they’ve learned – and what they have to teach us.

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Upstream CEOs pass the baton Aug 31, 2023

Upstream’s previous CEO Matt Prindiville makes a special return as podcast host in order to “pass the baton” to our new CEO – and Matt’s longtime friend – Crystal Dreisbach. Crystal is a Solutioneer whose life goal is to disrupt the status quo of our throw-away economy. With over 13 years of executive leadership experience in developing solutions that prevent waste, her goal is to help shift our economy to one that is just, sustainable, and builds resilient communities. Listen to this in-depth conversation to learn more about Crystal’s journey with reuse, her science-minded approach to reuse solutions, and her vision for the movement as Upstream starts a new chapter in its 20th year—and a little about what Matt is up to, as well!

Resources:

Crystal on LinkedIn
YouTube: Get to know Upstream’s new CEO
Podcast: CLYNK your glass for Matt’s next steps
The Reusies

Zero waste that keeps on giving Aug 24, 2023

Host Brooking Gatewood sits down with G.L., founder of Generation Conscious, which won The Reusies 2023 Most Innovative Reuse Company in Consumer Packaged Goods. Since 2021, Generation Conscious has been laying the ground-work for a student-centered, hygiene-equity focused business that is saving carbon and avoiding single-use waste through campus-based laundry soap refill stations. Learn more about the incredible innovations coming out of this first-generation, Black-led company that employs local labor, trains students in organizing and fundraising, reinvests surplus profits into BIPOC and queer-led fellowships, and ensures economic success is shared by workers.

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Scaling reuse in food service Aug 10, 2023

In this insightful episode, host Brooking Gatewood sits down with Lara Seng, Senior Sustainable Living Manager with Sodexo North America. They go behind the scenes into corporate organizing and strategic pilots to discuss how this Fortune 500 company is taking on the challenges of shifting to reuse at a massive scale. Sodexo, with Lara’s guidance, has been one of the longest running partners and Beta-testers of Chart-Reuse, Upstream’s first-in-industry foodware reuse analytics platform. Learn how Sodexo is working toward greater sustainability, and how Chart-Reuse helps highlight the huge environmental and economic opportunity of reuse for institutional change.

Resources:

Chart-Reuse.eco

Working Together to Build the New Reuse Economy Jun 29, 2023

Listen back to the latest installment of our livestream series, Indisposable Live®. This one was actually held live, following The Reusies 2023, which was showcased this year at Circularity 23 in Seattle. The Reusies highlighted the theme of cooperation and collaboration needed among different sectors (corporations, investors, NGO/non-profits, communities and government) when implementing and scaling reuse models to build and grow a thriving New Reuse Economy. Representatives from each sector then engaged in a powerful discussion about the successes, challenges, opportunities and collaboration needed to make this collective vision of a new reuse world a reality.

Moderated by Dr. Priscilla Johnson, Chief Strategy Officer at Upstream, panelists include:

Yinka Bode-George, Founder & CEO, Sustain our Future
Helen Kao, Group Manager, Global Reusables, Starbucks
Georgia Sherwin, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives & Partnerships, Closed Loop Partners
Ashima Sukhdev, Climate Mitigation & Circular Economy Policy Advisor, City of Seattle

Resources:

Circularity 23
The Reusies
Indisposable Live video recording
Podcast episode: A bird’s eye view of the circular economy, with Ashima Sukhdev

Centering community for a plastic-free future Jun 22, 2023

Alejandra Warren, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Plastic Free Future, focuses on the power of kindness and collective action for social change that protects the planet. The impact of her collaborative work in the reuse community is widely recognized via policy victories in California, nation-wide coalition-building, and most recently at the INC-2 negotiations in Paris. She was also the winner of The Reusies Activist of the Year 2022 award.

Alejandra joins host Brooking Gatewood for a candid conversation about inclusive organizing for a waste-free world, with an approach that focuses on joy; celebrating the inherent wisdom in community; and extending a circle of compassion to all of nature.

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Global Reuse on World Refill Day Jun 14, 2023

World Refill Day is a global day of action to prevent plastic pollution and help people live with less waste. Last year the campaign reached 80 countries and 100 million people, and for this year’s event on June 16th, UK-based City to Sea and partners are aiming even higher: launching the Global Reuse Summit and envisioning a circular future where reuse & refill are the norm. Join City to Sea’s veteran campaign leads Jo Morley, Head of Marketing and Campaigns, and Steve Hynd, Media and Policy Manager, to learn more about the origins and mission behind World Refill Day—then heed their advice and head to the pub to celebrate with the age-old reuse system of a good pint!

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What sticks is what works Jun 08, 2023

Tim Wolters is a modern-day “Renaissance Man” of the tech world and co-founder and CEO of CrowdSolve, a startup platform that combines technology and human-to-human collaboration to advance innovative climate solutions. CrowdSolve uses machine learning to help select the climate innovations with the highest potential for impact and momentum, an algorithm that host Dr. Priscilla Johnson aptly equates to a “dating app for climate entrepreneurs.”

Join Tim and Priscilla as they delve into the parallels between climate and reuse solutioneering—including the importance of scale; maintaining quality of life to spark further change; and the necessity of collaboration, ideation, and innovation to forge a better future.

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"Repairing the past, for future's delight" Jun 01, 2023

How can we begin to address mistakes we have made in the past and design a more sustainable future? How can we build bridges rather than putting up walls between one another?

Host Brooking Gatewood sits down with Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali, world-renowned thought-leader, strategist, activist – and 2023 Reusies judge – to explore these profound questions and how they relate to climate justice and equity. While some answers lie in science, practical action and policy, Dr. Ali reminds that grace, love and an appreciation of our shared humanity all play a vital role.

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Indisposable Fabrics May 25, 2023

With growing recognition that the fashion & apparel industry is a large contributor to our waste crisis, we are fortunate to have creative minds working on practical solutions – many of them incorporating reuse models. Host Brooking Gatewood sits down with Lewis Perkins, President of the Apparel Impact Institute and 2023 Reusies judge, to explore these opportunities, which his organization is helping to build and bring to fruition. With decades of experience in cradle-to-cradle solutions for textiles and apparel, Lewis shares a bit of his story, some of the more exciting sustainable developments in carpet and clothing – such as scaling impact through pooled funding – and why being a Reusies Judge lights him up!

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The path to no plastic in nature May 18, 2023

As part of its environmental portfolio, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) engages companies, policy makers and players across the plastics value chain to ensure an effective waste management system for plastic.

As Plastic and Material Science Program Specialist at WWF, Jess Zeuner is dedicated to helping achieve their ambitious vision of “No Plastic in Nature by 2030” – with reuse as an essential solution area. She sits down with host Dr. Priscilla Johnson to discuss how WWF is helping companies translate their plastic commitments into measurable change, the collaboration needed to create a circular future, and what inspired her to be a judge for The Reusies 2023.

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Community Powered Entrepreneurship May 11, 2023

Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) does tremendous work to serve the global community of entrepreneurs focused on ocean sustainability with funding, mentorship, capacity-building, and more. Their accelerator program has supported 45 world-leading ocean tech startups with $225M in lifetime funding. And Camila Vega, Solutions Portfolio Manager at SOA, draws on her wealth of experience as a founder, operations executive, and community organizer to help nurture these startups that are embracing bold solutions to plastic pollution. She joins host Brooking Gatewood to discuss community-powered innovation, human-centered design, and why technology alone is insufficient to address our waste crisis.

This episode is part of our series highlighting the judges for The Reusies 2023.

Resources:

Sustainable Ocean Alliance
SOA Ocean Leadership microgrants
Podcast: Indisposable Venture Capital with SOA’s Doreen Wong
The Reusies

Reuse, reimagine, redistribute May 04, 2023

With a background in waste management, Anita Schwartz, VP at environmental consulting company WSP, is only too aware of the massive carbon footprint embedded in our systems of extraction and production of goods. And she’s also taking a close look at the many indirect sources of carbon emissions created every step of the way to the landfill – what are known as “scope 3 emissions.”

Along with host Dr. Priscilla Johnson, Anita discusses how companies can become more sustainable by reimagining their supply chains. And she explains another important but overlooked “r”, redistribute – a concept critical to ensuring a just and equitable transition to a circular economy. Anita also shares her fascination with the innovative business models emerging in the reuse space that drew her to serve as a judge for The Reusies 2023.

Resources:

“CLYNK” your glass for Matt’s next steps May 02, 2023

Raise your glasses to send a warm but bittersweet farewell to our beloved CEO and podcast host Matt Prindiville. In this episode, we talk about the rare opportunity that compelled him to leave Upstream so he could help build reuse infrastructure in the private sector. Join us to reminisce about some key moments and favorite aspects of Matt’s 12+ year history helping lead the Upstream team and the reuse movement.

Resources:

About CLYNK
Podcast: Setting the stage for the new reuse economy (featuring CLYNK)
Podcast: On the road to reuse with bottle bills
The New Reuse Economy: How the beverage sector’s re-embrace of refill will transform the industry

*Correction: Matt mentions that CLYNK's technology is licensed in Oregon, which is not indeed the case. OBRC (see episode #122) has their own technology and systems that were independently developed. They've had no formal relationship with CLYNK since 2021, and their prior relationship was not a license but a software transition and coexistence agreement.

Helping consumers embrace reuse Apr 27, 2023

Hailing from The Netherlands, which sits below sea level, Thom Almeida is no stranger to the threat posed by climate change. These origins helped inform his career path up to the present day, where, as Platform Curator for Future of Consumption at the World Economic Forum, he focuses on the challenge of adopting reuse systems from the consumer’s perspective. What systems are they most likely to embrace? What arguments do they find most persuasive? What behavior trends are we seeing in the reuse space?

Thom sits down with our host, Chief Strategy Officer Priscilla Johnson, to discuss his team’s work to find reuse solutions that can succeed in the marketplace – and the exciting collaborations that are helping to spur new innovations.

This episode is part of our series highlighting The Reusies 2023 partners. We are thrilled that WEF is back for a third year as an amplifying partner, and that Poonam Watine will be serving on the judges panel.

Resources:

World Economic Forum - Future of Consumption Platform
World Economic Forum - Circular Economy resources & initiatives
UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution

Coming full circle with GreenBiz Apr 20, 2023

Kicking off our series highlighting the incredible partners of The Reusies 2023, we’re joined by two GreenBiz team members who are helping organize Circularity 23 in Seattle, WA – where, on June 7, The Reusies will make its in person debut.

VP of Circularity, Jon Smieja, and Circular Economy Manager, Kori Goldberg, sit down with our host, Chief Strategy Officer Priscilla Johnson, to discuss all things circular – what’s percolating at Circularity 23, how best to guide the massive shifts in thinking and practice needed to embrace the circular economy, and what we can learn from other countries that are farther along in their journeys.

Resources:

On the road to reuse with bottle bills Apr 13, 2023

The Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative is the industry steward of that state’s nationally recognized beverage container redemption program, helping discharge the responsibilities of beverage companies in complying with the state’s bottle deposit law. They have also started to collect and process refillable beer bottles to get them back to a consortium of Oregon brewers for washing and refilling. Host Matt Prindiville sits down with Jules Bailey, President and CEO of the OBRC, to dive deep into the details of how the cooperative works—and how it can serve as a model service provider for the New Reuse Economy—all with a focus on convenience for the consumer.

Resources:

The business case for catalyzing reuse Apr 06, 2023

What will it take to accelerate the New Reuse Economy? For Emily Tipaldo, Executive Director of the U.S. Plastics Pact, it starts with concepts close to our hearts: convening and collaborating. The Pact’s Reuse Catalyst program aims to boost emerging and established reuse and refill innovators, and the broader industry, through shared learning, expertise, and amplification.

Lauren Sweeney, co-founder and CEO of DeliverZero—a New York City-based reuse service and an inaugural member of the Catalyst—needs no convincing. She joins Emily and host Matt Prindiville to discuss the program’s successes and challenges, including why many companies are hesitant to fund sustainability efforts—and why that’s a losing proposition, both for the future of the planet and for their own economic resilience.

Resources:

Reuse in EPR Apr 06, 2023

With momentum surging in state legislatures to tackle the growing waste crisis, we face a pivotal opportunity to catalyze the new reuse economy. In this special Indisposable Live episode, we explore how best to incorporate waste prevention and reuse into one of the most popular waste policies - Extended Producer Responsibility. In this special Indisposable Live episode, Upstream's Policy Director Sydney Harris provides an overview of Upstream’s new Principles for Reuse/Refill in EPR and DRS, and talks with leaders crafting and supporting EPR legislation including Jennifer Navarra, Program Director for Zero Waste Hawaiʻi Island; Will Grassle, Associate for Policy & Programs at the Product Stewardship Institute; McKenna Morrigan, Policy Advisor at Seattle Public Utilities; and David Allaway, Senior Policy Analyst at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s Materials Management Program.

Resources:

Packaging a sustainable future Mar 30, 2023

Atlantic Packaging was founded, incredibly enough, by a KKK-fighting journalist from the South, whose efforts led to the arrest of hundreds of Klan members. Today, his grandson Wes Carter continues to lead the largest privately held packaging company in North America with a strong sense of ethics and a focus on sustainability. He’s launched an initiative to significantly reduce plastic-centric packaging, as well as “A New Earth Project,” a collaboration between the packaging supply chain and the global surfing community to help reduce ocean plastic waste.

Joined by their Director of Sustainability, Caroline James, the two sit down with host Matt Prindiville for a discussion about extended producer responsibility and what CPG brands and packaging suppliers are doing in this pivotal opportunity that we have to catalyze the new reuse economy.

Resources:

Atlantic Packaging
A New Earth Project
The Editor and the Dragon
“Your Packaging is the Problem” in Yale Insights by Caroline James
Upstream’s Principles for Reuse/Refill in EPR

The successes & setbacks of a reuse entrepreneur Mar 23, 2023

Should a reuse business focus on its product’s sustainability as a primary selling point? What will it take to compete with single-use? When will we see widespread adoption of reuse systems? Reuse entrepreneur Daniel Velez sits down with host, Chief Strategy Officer Priscilla Johnson, for a lively conversation in which he shares insights gained from launching—and ultimately, closing—Growly, “the milkman of craft beer.” The hard truth is that most startups don’t last. But Daniel illustrates the valuable lessons we can take from such experiences, and why, despite challenges, the reuse sector will only continue to grow.

Resources:

Daniel’s article to accompany this interview: 3 lessons learned from launching & running a reuse startup
Daniel’s blog: The Milkman Model
Daniel’s first podcast: Craft beer takes the reuse route

We don’t have 5 planets: the power of community to activate lasting change Mar 16, 2023

How do we ensure healthy, sustainable communities when we live in a system that so often prioritizes profits over people, especially those who are historically marginalized? Jose Bravo, Executive Director of The Just Transition Alliance, spends his days working on this very issue. And while there are no easy answers or quick fixes, one thing is clear: the most effective solutions will come from engaging those same communities that have been most harmed by entrenched systems of extraction and exploitation.

Our host, Upstream's Chief Strategy Officer Priscilla Johnson, sits down with Jose for a wide-ranging and engaging conversation on localized solutions to the climate and waste crisis that put the health of people and the planet first.

Resources:

Women Making Reuse Work Mar 09, 2023

In honor of Women’s History Month and the amazing efforts of countless women in the reuse movement, host Brooking Gatewood sits down with Upstream Board Members Ashley Craig and Linda Corrado for a candid chat about their own work on reuse – both professionally and personally. Learn about the paths these two women have taken from successful corporate careers in fashion and finance to the joy-inducing work of helping make throw-away go away. Their stories offer a model for how to direct one’s professional skills and talents toward the greater good – that anyone with a heart for this work can apply to transform their own careers and communities.

Resources:

From policy to practice: Four years of the Berkeley Reuse Ordinance Mar 02, 2023

In our first-ever episode of The Indisposable Podcast, we celebrated the passing of the 2019 Single Use Foodware and Litter Reduction Ordinance in Berkeley, California. More than 100 episodes later, host Brooking Gatewood welcomes back Martin Bourque, Executive Director of The Ecology Center, to discuss the organization’s new toolkit to help others learn from this unique model for both policy and research.

Joined by Jessica Heiges, researcher at the Environmental Science Policy and Management Program at UC Berkeley, the three talk about the unique conditions that led to the ordinance’s passing, the importance of campaign finance limits for environmental policy, the unexpected setback of COVID-19 – and what we’re learning now as implementation and enforcement are finally under way. Tune in for this rich policy and practice discussion as the city of Berkeley works to get off the disposable treadmill.

Resources:

The Disposable Free Berkeley Toolkit

The Ecology Center

Amazon’s 709 million pound gorilla Feb 16, 2023

How do you convince a global corporation to alter its course on single-use plastics? Shining light on the problem can be a good start. In a landmark report released in December 2022, Oceana revealed Amazon.com's staggering contributions to the growing plastic waste crisis – 709 million pounds in 2021 alone. While Amazon’s response has been lackluster, the wheels of change are already in motion via public pressure and calls for legislative action.

Upstream’s Chief Strategy Officer, Priscilla Johnson, sits down with Matt Littlejohn, SVP of Strategic Initiatives at Oceana, to discuss the report, what more Amazon can do as one of the world’s most advanced logistics companies, and the importance of taking collective action to pressure big brands to change their ways.

Resources:

Introducing Chart-Reuse Feb 09, 2023

Chart-Reuse™ by Upstream is a first-in-industry foodware reuse analytics platform that has recently soft-launched to the public. Ideated and developed over the last few years with major food service and fast food companies as pilot partners, this transformative tool allows food service companies to calculate cost, waste and greenhouse gas emission impacts, and manage their shift from single-use to reuse at project sites across North America. Listen in to learn more about Chart-Reuse with Upstream team members Matt Prindiville and Cerise Bridges.

Resources:

Chart-Reuse.eco

The Story of Plastic in Indonesia Feb 02, 2023

Working on reuse solutions in Indonesia is much the same as in the US – setting standards, organizing campaigns, implementing and iterating policy at the local level. But the region faces additional challenges with the burdens of pollution and plastic waste literally arriving on their shores from countries in the Global North. In this context, the reuse victories Tiza Mafira has helped achieve are especially impressive, having initiated single-use bag bans in over 100 cities across the country. And that’s just the beginning. Tiza sits down with host Matt Prindiville to discuss her work on big, system-changing solutions as an activist, Co-Founder of the Plastic Bag Diet Movement, and Director of the Climate Policy Initiative.

Resources:

Flipping the script on single-use Jan 26, 2023

You may know award-winning actress Alysia Reiner as Fig on the hit Netflix show Orange is the New Black - but did you know she is also an ambassador and change-maker for reuse and sustainability? Alysia sits down with host Matt Prindiville to discuss her work as an activist and ecopreneur, her positive approach to changing hearts and minds on climate and reuse – and how, with a little creative thinking, we can flip the script on single-use.

Resources:

A toast to the reusable cup Jan 19, 2023

Reuse service company r.Cup has been making big moves lately, and event-goers are eagerly embracing their reusable cup systems. Not content to rest on their laurels after winning the award for Most Innovative Food & Beverage Company at The Reusies 2022, r.Cup has been expanding into new cities, landing deals with high-profile event producers, and forging partnerships with big brands to create the cultural and infrastructure sea changes needed to scale reuse. CEO and Founder Michael Martin has even found time to work on a book. Host Matt Prindiville sits down with Michael and r.Cup’s Chief Revenue Officer, Tina Swanson, to learn more.

Resources:

Collaboration as the key to reuse innovation Jan 05, 2023

As Vice President of Innovation Discovery at Clorox, Miranda Helmer knows that a key to measurable success in reuse is cooperation – sharing ideas and information that will help bring reuse solutions to scale – though it can be hard to get other corporations to see it that way. So rather than waiting for change to come to them, Clorox is leading by example as a member of the Reuse Refill Action Forum, a collaboration space co-convened by Upstream where companies can forge connections with other companies, NGOs, and policy makers.

Host Matt Prindiville sits down with Miranda to talk about the forum, as well as the many new reusable products Clorox is bringing to market across their many brands, with the help of her leadership.

Resources:

Reuse Refill Action Forum (sign up here)
Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Making the Rounds with Reusable Grocery Delivery Dec 22, 2022

Evan Abel, Head of Service Design at the Rounds, sits down with host Matt Prindiville to discuss how the company is taking delivery to a new level of convenience. Their “psychic home manager” handles the inventory of everyday essentials in your home, anticipating and bringing you goods exactly when you need them – with zero waste.

With its cutting-edge software, the company learns what you want, delivers your products in refillable containers with personalized amounts, and then “makes the rounds” to pick them back up for reuse with a fleet of e-bikes and electric vehicles. This ingenuity helped set them apart and win The Reusies award this year for Most Innovative Reuse Company in the Enabling Technology sector.

Resources:

Scaling reuse with smart packaging Dec 15, 2022

Can reusable packaging be convenient, cost-effective and even “smart”? Host Matt Prindiville sits down with Brian Bauer of Algramo, who shows us how his company is transforming customers’ relationship to packaging with technology, elegantly designed systems and standardization across a number of big brands.

Winner of The Reusies® 2022 Most Innovative award for consumer packaged goods, Algramo is proving its success in Chilean and British markets, with an eye toward expanding worldwide. To keep costs low for consumers and reduce environmental impacts, Algramo takes into account every part of the system from travel to water consumption, to the reusable packaging itself – which means their products offset emissions after just one refill.

Resources:

Closing the Digital Divide with Reuse Dec 08, 2022

Electronics pose a special challenge when it comes to waste. Many people don’t know how to properly dispose of their old computers and cell phones, which can end up unused in drawers, or worse yet, releasing toxins in landfills. Others don’t have access to them to begin with. Enter Human-I-T, reuse innovator and Reuse Community of the Year at the 2022 Reusies. They put more than 60,000 refurbished electronics a year into the hands of those who need them most – while preventing these devices from polluting waste streams. Host Brooking Gatewood sits down with Gabe Middleton, co-founder and CEO of what some call “the Goodwill of electronics,” to explore what social entrepreneurship looks like in practice.

Resources:

Envisioning the New Reuse Economy Dec 01, 2022

Upstream's latest Indisposable Live panel is now available as a podcast!

This engaging discussion on the New Reuse Economy features Upstream CEO & Chief Solutioneer Matt Prindiville, Anita Schwartz (WSP USA) and Crystal Dreisbach (Don’t Waste Durham / Green to Go NC), and was hosted by Upstream's Chief Strategy Officer, Priscilla Johnson.

Learn from these thought leaders why reuse beats single-use on every measure – even when accounting for environmental impacts from transit and washing – and the vision for how we can get there, through creative engineering, policy, and community efforts that serve as models nationwide.

The livestream first aired in conjunction with the publication of Upstream’s latest white paper, “The New Reuse Economy: how reuse systems and services will revolutionize how we consume” which you can read in the resources below.

Resources:

Reuse on the World Stage Nov 22, 2022

Join our newest host, Upstream Chief Strategy Officer Priscilla Johnson, as she sits down with Dave Ford, founder of Ocean Plastics Leadership Network (OPLN) for a wide-ranging discussion on national and international reuse and climate solutions. The two cover current and future plastics treaties, companies that are stepping up to the plate, organizations pressing for urgent action to confront the climate crisis – and what it all means for our planet’s future. On a scale of 1-10, how ambitious are current global efforts on reuse? Tune in and find out.

Resources:

Batting 1,000 on zero-waste Sep 22, 2022

Prompted by the enormous amount of single-use plastic waste at stadiums and in the locker room, professional baseball player and environmental advocate Chris Dickerson co-founded Players for the Planet with teammate Jack Cassel. Chris sits down with host Matt Prindiville to talk about the bringing together athletes as advocates and the platform they have to influence change, as well as the challenges of endeavoring to make America’s favorite pastime sustainable for the future.

Resources:

Real solutions in a virtual world Sep 15, 2022

Kristy Drutman is an environmental justice advocate and Founder & Creator of Browngirl Green, a media platform and podcast committed to promoting diversity & inclusion in the environmental field as well as creative solutions to the climate crisis. And she’s also hosting The Reusies this year! Tune into an uplifting conversation about how Kristy uses the power of social media to tell solutions-focused stories and build an engaged online community with trust and respect rather than virality as its focus.

Resources:

Indisposable Venture Capital Sep 08, 2022

Listen in for some real talk about the evolution of venture capital to fund sustainable solutions, with 2022 Reusies Judge Doreen Wong of the Sustainable Ocean Alliance. In this episode, we explore Doreen’s unique career path from engineer to climate tech venture capital specialist – as well as her take on key issues and trends when it comes to diversity and inclusion in this powerful industry.

Resources:

The Indisposable Podcast Turns 100! Sep 01, 2022

Welcome to our 100th episode of The Indisposable Podcast! In this special celebratory conversation, our hosts Brooking Gatewood and Matt Prindiville take a reflective amble down episode lane and share some behind-the-scenes stories – like how the podcast got started with a fateful phone call to Lithuania, what it was like talking to their personal heroes, and favorite moments and insights from the first few years of this show.

Though there are so many great conversations to highlight, we mention these 20 in the show:

#1 A giant leap toward throw-away-free living: Miriam Gordon & Martin Borque

#15 Force of nature: Diane Wilson (Unreasonable Woman)

#95 Putting the “re” in “use” with William McDonough and #62 Be a Reuser, Not a Consumer: William McDonough

#36 From Worm Poop to Loop: Tom Szaky’s journey into the reuse movement

#82 Redesigning How We Get Groceries: Anukampa Freedom Gupta-Fonner

#96 Hug a plate: plastic-free solutions for kid friendly dining: Dr. Manasa Mantravadi

#80 Pioneering Reuse Down Under: A conversation with KeepCup: Abigail Forsyth

#88 Setting the standard for reuse: Amy Larkin and Claudette Juska

#59 Envisioning and Investing in the Waste-Free World: Ron Gonen

#45 Changing the narrative: Environmental justice and plastic production: Juan Macias, Mary Aguilera and Sylvia McKenzie

#56 Citizen Science for a World Without Waste: Sybil Bullock, Laura Hernandez, Nirere Sadrach, Mark Penalver, Jake with the Climate Reality Project, and Thara and Nina of ECOTON & River Warriors

#21 Running for change with Sam Bencheghib

#3 Plastic-free mermaids: Kate Nelson

#64 Making Art to Make a Difference: Ben Von Wong

#24 Once upon a beautiful disruption: Brian Fitzgerald & Tommy Crawford

#89 Organizing for a Reusable Future: Doug Calem, Dawn Rodriguez & Alejandra Warren

#27 From white environmentalism to anti-racism: Brooking Gatewood & Matt Prindiville

#76 The Beer Store Vision: Reuse and Refill for the Beverage Industry: Rachel Morier

#52 Embodied Activism: The What, Why, and How: Si Thacker

Other Resources:

Sign up for Upstream’s newsletter and never miss an episode
Interview Connections: podcast booking agency
Story hacking with The Dancing Foxes

Unlearning the past to build a circular future Aug 25, 2022

GreenBiz Group is a media and events company that’s working to accelerate a just transition to a clean economy. Not only do they do cutting edge journalism at the intersection of business, technology and sustainability, they also organize incredible events – like the Circularity Conference – that bring together business, non-profit and government leaders to learn, network and catalyze new opportunities. They’re also a 2022 Reusies partner and Suz Okie is on the judge’s panel this year. Host Matt Prindiville sits down with Suz and Jon Smieja and discusses pivoting their Circularity conference during the pandemic, key trends (hint: EPR is a big one) and what we need to “unlearn” (siloed systems and the way we consume) in order to make reuse scale.

Resources:

GreenBiz Group
Events at GreenBiz
Upstream’s vlog about Circularity 22
The 3 most impactful circularity trends in 2021 | Greenbiz
Circularity requires collaboration from companies, large and small | Greenbiz
The Indisposable Podcast, Episode #93: Coalition Building in Seattle

Downstream, upstream, in-between: innovating reuse globally Aug 18, 2022

Poonam Watine, 2022 Reusies Judge and WEF knowledge expert, is helping curate some exciting new networks and resource hubs to support the scaling of reuse across the globe. Tune in to learn about the Global Plastic Innovation Network, the brand new Reuse Portal, and more – and how all of it hinges on local action to spur global momentum for the new reuse economy.

Resources:

The Plastics Pacts: Collaboration to scale a circular economy Aug 11, 2022

Global Plastic Pacts bring together stakeholders from across the plastics value chain to work at the ground level to build a new circular economy – one that eliminates unnecessary plastic and emphasizes reuse and refill. This week’s guest Marta Longhurst, Manager of the Plastics Pact Initiative at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMAF) discusses the momentum the Pacts are building and the critical role they play in creating platforms for cross-sector alignment and collaboration.

Resources:

Hug a plate: plastic-free solutions for kid friendly dining Aug 04, 2022

“At the end of the day, people and the planet are connected,” says Dr. Manasa Mantravadi, “And the lasting impact between the two are not going to be felt by us, but by our children, and our children's children.” In this episode, Brooking Gatewood sits down with Dr. Mantravadi – pediatrician, mother, advocate, 2022 Reusies® Judge, and founder of the stainless steel container company Ahimsa - who set out to change the systems that expose children to harmful plastic food packaging and pollute the planet.

Resources:

Putting the “re” in “use” with William McDonough Jul 28, 2022

We welcome back the legendary William McDonough, architect and vanguard of the circular economy to The Indisposable Podcast. (He is also returning as a judge and will be presenting at The Reusies this year!). Journey with Bill as he describes how the revelatory intersections of science, art, math, and nature influenced his approach to design, sustainability, and ultimately – a model for the new reuse economy.

Resources:

mcdonough.com
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
The Upcycle
Be a Reuser, Not a Consumer: 2021 Indisposable Podcast interview with William McDonough

Making Restaurants More Reusable Jul 21, 2022

Hollywood actor & director turned Solutioneer John Charles Meyer is the Executive Director of Plastic Free Restaurants – a new nonprofit that helps restaurants, schools, and other US organizations who want financial and technical assistance to shift from single-use to reuse. Plastic Free Restaurants has already helped keep millions of pieces of plastic out of our waste stream. Listen in to find out how, and how you can help!

Resources:

Plastic Free Restaurants
Find Plastic Free Restaurants Around the US
PPC’s Flip the Script Campaign
Rethink Disposable’s Case Studies & Resources
Recent NPR piece on the impact of PFAS chemicals
Upstream’s Reuse Wins report
Upstream’s Reuse Outreach Playbook
Upstream’s learning hub on Reuse in Food Service
The #SkipTheStuff policy campaign

Coalition Building in Seattle Jul 14, 2022

Reuse Seattle is a public-private partnership among the City of Seattle; the city’s major sports and entertainment venues; restaurants and businesses; PR3; and a growing list of new partners. They’re working to create practical solutions and standardized systems to help the city’s businesses and residents move from single-use to reuse – making it accessible, affordable, and convenient for everyone. They’re also one of the most recent to join Upstream’s national network of reuse coalitions. Meet Reuse Seattle’s leaders Stephanie Thomas of Cascadia Consulting and Pat Kaufman of Seattle Public Utilities as they describe the city’s exciting evolution toward reuse for all – and the power of partnerships in getting there.

Resources:

Reuse Seattle
Cascadia Consulting
Seattle Public Utilities
PR3
r.Cup
GoBox
Upstream podcast about PR3: Setting the Standard for Reuse
About Upstream’s Community Coalitions
Celebrating the Visionary Sego Jackson on his Retirement

Bringing back the refillable bottle Jun 30, 2022

Caren McNamara of Conscious Container and Matt Swihart of Double Mountain Brewery & Cidery were both inspired by seeing reuse/refill operations in action on their worldwide travels – and wanted to bring these systems to life in the U.S. Now they are pioneering beverage refill in the beer and wine industries. In this week’s episode, they share both the enthusiasm and challenges they have encountered, plus why the economic and environmental benefits make it all worthwhile – especially if we can get a national bottle bill on board.

Resources:

What does restorative environmental justice look like? Jun 16, 2022

In this special episode honoring Juneteenth, we talk about environmental justice and how the one-way, throw-away, linear economy doesn’t just trash the planet, it destroys lives and communities as well - especially communities of color in sacrifice zones here in the United States and around the globe. Learn insights from two esteemed leaders in the environmental justice movement – Dr. Ana Baptista, Professor at the Milano School of Policy, Management & Environment and Co-Director of the Tishman Environment & Design Center at The New School; and Jose Bravo, Executive Director of the Just Transition Alliance – as they discuss how systemic racism, historical and ongoing, continues to bring the most devastating climate impacts to people of color, what effective allyship looks like, and how reuse fits in as part of a holistic solution to addressing this legacy and bringing restorative justice to frontline communities.

Resources:

Plastic, Oceans, & a New Way Forward Jun 08, 2022

In celebration of World Oceans Day, host Brooking Gatewood sits down with National Reuse Network member and Director of Programs for Oceanic Global, Cassia Patel, to learn about our oceans and some of the collaborative organizing happening around the world to help protect them. We also talk about Oceanic Global’s exciting Blue Standard certification and training program to help businesses choose ocean-friendly solutions, including ditching plastic!

Resources:

AAPI Leadership and Advancing Reuse May 26, 2022

This week, in celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (or AAPI Heritage Month), we talk about AAPI leadership and community-building with Grace Lee of ReThink Disposable, a program of the Clean Water Fund, that has led to some of the most essential pilot projects fostering change in the reuse movement today. Raised in Los Angeles by scientists from Taiwan, Grace has a long history of leadership for environmental stewardship in California, including her work leading ReThink’s groundbreaking business engagement efforts in Los Angeles and Oakland. She sits down with Brooking Gatewood for an honest chat about how her experiences as an Asian American have shaped her life and work to protect our earth, and shares stories of AAPI restaurant owners leading the way toward indisposable dining.

Resources:

ReThink Disposable
Follow ReThink Disposable on Instagram: @thefutureisreusable
Register for ReThink’s May 31 webinar: Yes to Reuse! Meet Reuse Champions of Alameda County
Watch: recording of Reusables Win in SF livestream (featuring Grace Lee and Anh Nguyen of Cam Anh Deli)
Visit Cam Anh Deli (Oakland, CA) and try their delicious banh mi!
Reuse Business Profile Summary: Restaurants featuring Pan-Asian or Pacific Island Cuisines
Upstream's Roadmap to Reuse Resource Library with other Restaurant Profiles

Setting the standard for reuse May 12, 2022

This week's episode is all about standards – why they're needed to scale reusable packaging and infrastructure, and how they serve as a critical piece of the puzzle that enables businesses to operate and thrive in the growing circular economy. Host Matt Prindiville sits down with Amy Larkin and Claudette Juska, Co-Founders of PR3 at RESOLVE, who have dug in hard on the infrastructure question. They launched PR3 to develop Reusable Packaging Design Standards to help transform the current landscape of disconnected, small-scale reuse pilots into full-scale, interoperable public-private systems. And they’re now working with the City of Seattle, local sports and entertainment venues, and businesses to create a model that can be replicated around the world.

Resources:

RESOLVE-PR3
The New Reuse Economy
Upstream’s Reuse Wins report and Tomorrow’s New Reuse Economy

Organizing for a Reusable Future May 05, 2022

Across America, thousands of people are organizing in local communities to help build a better way than throw-away in their cities and towns. In this episode, we speak with organizers from three very different U.S. cities in different stages of the work and learn about their shared challenges and key elements of success in building coalitions for change. With Doug Calem (Columbus, OH), Dawn Rodriguez (Austin, TX), and Alejandra Warren (San Mateo County, CA).

Resources:

The Secret to EPR for a Circular Economy Apr 28, 2022

We all agree that corporations need to have some skin in the game when it comes to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), green design and taking their packaging back for reuse or recycling – but the devil is truly in the details. There’s good EPR and bad EPR. Kirstie Pecci of the Conservation Law Foundation and Judith Enck of Beyond Plastics have been working intimately on EPR in several states this legislative session, as well as deposit-return systems for beverages (e.g. “bottle bills”). Dive deep with these policy experts on the nuances of EPR for packaging that ensures a shift to a circular economy and prevents harmful recycling practices.

Resources:

Reuse as a Climate Action Strategy Apr 21, 2022

In this episode, we celebrate Earth Day and this year’s official Earth Day theme – invest in our planet– by talking about how we can invest in reusable systems to help solve climate and environmental justice issues. With Upstream’s own policy analyst Marcel Howard and Rich Grousset of Re:Dish, we discuss what actions we can take and explore Upstream’s new Climate & Reuse Toolkit, which contains tools and resources to help advocates integrate reuse into climate action strategies.

Resources:

Setting the stage for the new reuse economy Apr 14, 2022

With big brands signaling support for extended producer responsibility (EPR), deposit-return systems (DRS), and – most recently – reuse/refill, new opportunities have opened up to pass policy and create the infrastructure needed to transform how we consume products like food, beverages, personal care and cleaning products.

Maine-based bottle redemption business CLYNK uses the same infrastructure for its return system as will be needed in this New Reuse Economy. Join host Matt Prindiville and Clayton Kyle, founder & chairman of CLYNK (and Upstream board chair emeritus!), as they discuss the potential for innovative companies to be service providers for the circular economy – and to support the buildout of EPR and deposit-return systems for packaging.

Resources:

CLYNK
Contact Clayton Kyle

Reuse Wins at Events Apr 07, 2022

As fans return to sporting arenas and music lovers celebrate the return of concerts and festivals, sustainability issues at events and venues are coming back into focus – specifically, what to do about the ever-present disposable plastic cup.

In partnership with the Green Sports Alliance, Upstream kicked off their new Indisposable Live™ series by discussing the experiences of entrepreneurs and associations wrestling with how to do reuse at events and large venues. Upstream’s Chief Solutioneer/CEO, Matt Prindiville hosted special guests who are innovating solutions around single-use at large scale events including Roger McClendon from Green Sports Alliance, Michael Martin from r.Cup/r.Ware, and Ryan Everton from TURN.

Tune into this lively discussion and learn more about how our guests started their businesses, their plans for the future, how they’re adapting – and even thriving – during the pandemic, and how you can help bring their services to your own community.

Resources:

Upstream’s full life-cycle analysis of reusable and single-use cups at events
Eliminating single use cups at events (vlog/blog)
Aluminum cups at the Super Bowl not so super (blog)
A conversation with Roger McClendon, Green Sports Alliance on the Indisposable Podcast

Redesigning How We Get Groceries Mar 31, 2022

Celebrating women’s history month and reuse entrepreneurs, in this episode we speak with Anukampa Freedom Gupta-Fonner, Reusies 2021 finalist for Activist of the Year – and founder of Design by Freedom, an invention company propelling the circular economy and working to make trash history. Freedom is fully devoting her attention to designing a new way of getting groceries without all the waste: Her DC-based reuse grocery system, called Spring, will be launching this year. Join Freedom and host Brooking Gatewood as they discuss the power of supporting women’s leadership and the design challenges of changing one of the most fundamental parts of American society: how we get our food.

Resources:

Reuse for the Win! Reducing Waste in Sports Mar 17, 2022

Roger McClendon is the Executive Director of the Green Sports Alliance (GSA), a trade organization that convenes stakeholders from around the sporting world to promote healthy, waste-free communities where we live and play. Learn about Roger’s journey from being a superstar college basketball player, to founding the Chief Sustainability Officer role at Yum Brands (parent company to KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut, among others), to focusing on sustainability for both people and planet at the GSA. Host Matt Prindiville welcomes Roger on the show to talk about the positive changes happening at sporting venues and about sustainability as an essential business strategy not only for the environment but for the bottom line.

Resources:

Green Sports Alliance
Reuse Wins at Events report
Register for the Reuse Wins at Events livestream (by March 23, 2022)

Pioneering Reuse Down Under: a conversation with KeepCup Mar 04, 2022

The podcast journeys down under to Australia! Brooking Gatewood sits down with early reuse Solutioneer, Abigail Forsyth, Founder/CEO of KeepCup – one of the top reusable cup companies in the world and voted #1 reusable cup by GQ in 2021. Abigail talks about the early days of trying to normalize reuse in her community while owning/operating a Melbourne cafe in the late 90s. From designing their own barista-standard reusable cups to advancing the reuse movement and the next phase of KeepCup’s evolution, this B Corp is another great example as to why reuse is just as important for people and the economy as it is for the planet.

Resources:

www.Keepcup.com
Upstream’s Roadmap to Reuse: a step-by-step guide for policymakers and activists for bringing reuse to their communities
About B Corps
About 1% for the Planet

Indisposable Organizing: Black Leadership on the Front Lines Feb 24, 2022

The problem of plastic pollution is not just a matter of waste – it is also a matter of justice. As Gulf Coast organizer John Beard notes, communities living in areas of petrochemical extraction are living in “sacrifice zones” and suffering the toxic consequences of our extractive economy without even receiving the benefits of industry jobs. And all across the country, these communities – all too often communities of color – are fighting back and fighting for the right for clean air, water, and a just transition to a regenerative economy where people and planet are seen as indisposable.

As we near the end of Black History Month, join us in honoring the incredible work of some of the many Black organizers in the Break Free From Plastic movement, and get to know a few of our community leaders working on petrochem-related organizing. Join John, Louisiana-based organizer Kaitlyn Joshua, and BFFP US Coordinator Melissa Aguayo for a frank and inspiring discussion of how racial, environmental, and climate justice intersect – and how intersectional organizing and solidarity can change our world.

Resources:

Tipping the Scale Toward Waste Reduction with Extended Producer Responsibility Feb 10, 2022

This week, host Matt Prindiville chats with Miriam Gordon, Policy Director at Upstream, about the benefits of extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging and the exciting brink we are on for passing these policies in the United States. Learn how EPR supports corporate brand accountability, source reduction and the circular economy – and why it’s important that we leverage the waste reduction hierarchy of reduce and reuse first, before recycling.

Resources:

Environmental Justice: Past, Present and Future Feb 03, 2022

In celebration of Black History Month, Upstream’s Policy Analyst & Coordinator, Marcel Howard, talks about the start of the environmental justice movement and its historical connection to environmental racism. Learn how Black and minority communities are still being disproportionately and unjustly impacted by climate change and pollution today – and the roles we can all play to advocate for fair, anti-racist treatment of predominantly underrepresented communities in the United States. Hint: reuse plays a big part.

Resources:

The Beer Store Vision: Reuse and Refill for the Beverage Industry Jan 27, 2022

This week, host Matt Prindiville talks with Rachel Morier, the Director of Sustainability at The Beer Store & Brewers Distributor Ltd, one of the top beer sellers in Ontario, Canada. The Beer Store’s innovative returnable/reusable bottles undergo a comprehensive process of washing, sanitizing, refilling, labeling and reshelving – all within just 3 days. Tune in to learn how this visionary model is paving the way for waste reduction in the beverage industry.

Resources:

How Upstream and the Reuse Movement Began Jan 20, 2022

This week, host Matt Prindiville chats with Upstream’s two founders, Dr. Bill Sheehan and Helen Spiegelman – two advocates behind what is now known as the “reuse movement”. Learn how Bill and Helen began catalyzing conversations with business, government and nonprofit leaders to redesign the systems generating single-use waste – and how that helped drive today’s biggest cities and governments to strive for zero waste.

Resources:

Get in touch with Bill Sheehan
Get in touch with Helen Spiegelman
Fungal Diversity Survey
Learn more about How Upstream and the Reuse Movement Began

New Year, New Solutioneers, New Reuse-olutions Jan 13, 2022

This week, we’re introducing you to the four newest members of Upstream’s Board of Directors: Linda Corrado, Ashley Craig, Rose Stephens-Booker and Daniel Velez! We asked each of them to tell us something we wouldn’t know from looking at their LinkedIn profile and what inspired them to join Upstream’s Board and the reuse movement. Plus, hear their top New Year “reuse-solutions” for starting down the path to a greener, healthier, and more indisposable lifestyle in 2022.

Resources:

Craft Beer takes the Reuse Route Jan 06, 2022

This week, host Matt Prindiville chats with a new member of Upstream’s Board of Directors, entrepreneur Daniel Velez – Co-founder and CEO of Growly, an innovative online craft beer delivery service. Based in Phoenix, Arizona, Growly uses the milkman model to deliver locally made craft beer, cold brew coffee, and kombucha in returnable growlers. Tune in to hear how Daniel is pioneering craft beverage packaging with reusable growlers and innovative delivery systems.

Resources:

Reuse (and Wine) On-Tap Dec 22, 2021

This week, host Matt Prindiville joins Charles Bieler – Founder and CEO of Bieler Wines, winemaker, and innovator – to discuss reuse in wine and wine service. At the forefront of the industry for more than 20 years, Bieler has been named by Food & Wine Magazine and the Wine Enthusiast as one of the “40 Big Food Thinkers Under 40.” From wine on-tap in restaurants to a return-to-retail reusable/refillable bottle system, hear how Charles is working to reimagine the wine industry’s role in supporting the shift to an emerging reuse economy.

Resources:

Bieler Wines website: https://www.bielerwines.com/
Bieler Wines on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bielerwines/
The Gotham Project: http://gothamproject.net/
Charles Bieler on Twitter: https://twitter.com/charlesbieler

Scaling Supply Chains with Reuse Dec 15, 2021

Rounding out our special series for The Reusies™, Matt Prindiville talks with Garr Punnett, Chief of Staff and Circular Economist at Rheaply – the National Reuse Awards 2021 Most Innovative Reuse Company award winner. Rheaply’s online resource management and exchange platform helps businesses around the world better manage their physical assets to improve supply chain issues and minimize resource waste. Tune in to learn how Rheaply is changing the game in an era when the need for circular business operations is greater than ever.

Resources:

The Power of Community and Coalitions Dec 09, 2021

This week, for another special episode in our series on The Reusies™, host Brooking Gatewood sits down with members of Reusable LA – the 2021 Most Impactful Community Leadership award winner at the National Reuse Awards. Alison Waliszewski with 5 Gyres, Melissa Aguayo with Break Free From Plastic, and Emily Parker with Heal the Bay share the history and victories of this powerful and inclusive coalition helping to shift the state of plastic pollution in the city of Los Angeles.

To keep up with Reusable LA’s work and get involved in upcoming actions, visit www.reusablela.org and follow the coalition on social media:

If you’re interested in joining an existing reuse coalition or starting a new one in your community, visit our Community Coalitions webpage to see how you can get involved. For more on grassroots and inclusive organizing, check out episodes 1: A giant leap toward throw-away-free living; 33: Racial Justice & Environmentalism: Together & Inseparable; and 45: Changing the narrative: Environmental justice and plastic production!

Stopping Single-Use in the Shower Nov 24, 2021

This week, tune in for another special episode in our series for The Reusies™ as host Matt Prindiville sits down with Lindsey McCoy, CEO and Co-Founder of Plaine Products – the 2021 Fan Favorite Reuse Company award winner at the National Reuse Awards. Plaine Products delivers its personal care and beauty products directly to consumers in reusable aluminum containers, along with a prepaid mailer to return old bottles for washing and refilling. Learn how Plaine Products came about as the first beauty company to employ a reusable packaging business model, and how the company is leading others to do the same.

Plus: Through December 31, donate any amount to Upstream and unlock exclusive discounts and promo codes to a variety of reuse businesses in the 2021 Holiday Shopping Guide – Plaine Products included!

Resources:

Reusables Win in San Francisco Nov 18, 2021

This week, we’re bringing you reuse success stories from San Francisco as restaurant owners and reuse service providers share all the benefits they’ve experienced after switching to reusables for dine-in and take-out. This episode was adapted from our recent livestream, “Reusables Win in SF,” in partnership with the San Francisco Department of the Environment and the Golden Gate Restaurant Association.

Resources:

Reusables Win in SF webpage
Reusables Win in SF digital toolkit
Reusables Win in SF livestream video on YouTube: English | Spanish | Chinese
Reusables Win in SF downloadable brochure: English | Spanish | Chinese

Reimagining Food Service Systems in Durham and Beyond Oct 28, 2021

This week, we join The Reusies™ 2021 Activist of the Year award winner, Crystal Dreisbach, for another episode in our special series on the National Reuse Awards. Located in Durham, NC, Crystal founded the non-profit Don’t Waste Durham and the reusable to-go container service GreenToGo, using her activist platform to build awareness and drive action. Learn why Crystal saw the need to bring reuse to her community and how she emerged as an award winner at the inaugural Reusies.

Resources:

The Reusies™ Panel Discussion: Why Reuse Wins Oct 07, 2021

Our special episode series for The Reusies™ National Reuse Awards continues with the full panel discussion from the event on September 30. Moderated by science communicator and TV personality Danni Washington, panelists Matt Prindiville of Upstream; Bridget Croke of Closed Loop Partners; Liz Segran of Fast Company; and artist/activist Benjamin Von Wong discuss their vision for an #indisposable future, how we can get there, and why it's so important that we all come together to support the reuse movement.

Resources:

Learn more about The Reusies and see the 2021 award winners
Watch the full panel discussion on YouTube
The Reusies bonus content: “Happiness” performance by Kori Withers

Science on an Environmental Mission Sep 16, 2021

In another episode of our special series for The Reusies™, meet Danni Washington, moderator and host of the inaugural National Reuse Awards™. Danni is a world-renowned television personality, science communicator, and the first African-American woman to host her own science television series. Danni talks with Matt Prindiville about her mission-focused work educating youth about the importance of reducing waste and ocean conservation – as well as her ongoing journey to elevate her voice, represent diverse communities in media, and inspire others to protect the planet.

Resources:

Marking Art to Make a Difference Sep 09, 2021

The Reusies™ (aka the National Reuse Awards) special series continues with Benjamin Von Wong, an internationally recognized photographer and activist and a Reusies award show panelist. Benjamin’s recent work brings attention to plastic pollution, fast fashion, e-waste and other environmental issues. In this episode, Benjamin joins host Brooking Gatewood to talk about some of his recent projects and the power of campaigns, collaboration, and infusing activism with art.

Resources:

Check out Benjamin’s work at www.vonwong.com
Participate in Benjamin’s latest interactive campaign at www.turnofftheplastictap.com
Work with Benjamin at https://unforgettablelabs.com/
The Reusies: https://www.thereusies.org/

Redesigning for Reuse Aug 19, 2021

Our special episode series for The Reusies™, the first ever National Reuse Awards, continues with Liz Segran, another honorary award judge. A Fast Company Senior Staff Writer and sustainable design specialist, Liz shares with Brooking Gatewood what she’s learned about the reuse movement from ancient history as well as youth, fashion, and innovative design – including reusable trash bags.

Resources:

Be a Reuser, Not a Consumer Aug 12, 2021

Our special episode series for The Reusies™, the first ever National Reuse Awards, continues with another honorary award judge: sustainable designer and living legend William (Bill) McDonough. As Chief Executive of McDonough Innovation and co-author of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking The Way We Make Things, Bill shares his wisdom on how to shift our thinking, language, and actions toward a world where – as in nature – there is no such thing as waste.

Resources:

A Bird’s-Eye View of the Circular Economy Aug 05, 2021

Our special episode series for The Reusies™, the first ever National Reuse Awards, continues. Brooking Gatewood sits down with Christian Kaufholz of the World Economic Forum’s Global Plastic Action Partnership and Ashima Sukhdev of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Circular Economy in Cities project to talk about their big picture perspectives on the evolution of reuse and exciting trends ahead – including The Reusies!

Resources: (include links to resources mentioned in episode as appropriate)

Global Plastic Action Partnership
World Economic Forum
Ellen Macarthur Foundation - Circular Economy in Cities
The Reusies

Sustainable Packaging: A Report From the Trenches Jul 29, 2021

As we continue our special series for The Reusies™, the first ever National Reuse Awards, we invite you to listen in on a conversation with Matt Prindiville and Erin Simon from World Wildlife Fund (WWF) who is one of our honorary award judges. As WWF’s Head of Plastic Waste and Business, Erin discusses how her expertise as a packaging engineer influences her work today to support consumer goods companies in discovering (and using) more sustainable packaging options and helps cultivate ideas around systems that are truly better for the planet.

Resources:

Envisioning and Investing in the Waste-Free World Jul 22, 2021

This week, we’re kicking off a special episode series for The Reusies™, the first ever National Reuse Awards. Matt Prindiville sits down with Ron Gonen, Founder and CEO of Closed Loop Partners, who are presenting The Reusies inaugural event with Upstream this year. Hear about Ron’s journey from sanitation in New York City to a venture capital firm in the circular economy space to his recently released book, The Waste-Free World: How the Circular Economy Will Take Less, Make More, and Save the Planet. In this episode, Ron talks more about his vision of a world built around a circular economy – told through inspiring stories of what’s already happening today.

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Setting the Table for Reuse in Palo Alto Jul 15, 2021

Host Matt Prindiville sits down with reuse service company Dishcraft’s Linda Pouliot, Tootsie’s at the Stanford Barn restaurant owner Rocco Scordella, and Upstream Business Innovation Director Samantha Sommer to discuss the Serve It Safe pilot, which launched earlier this year. Tune in this week for an inside look at the challenges and opportunities in creating a successful service for reuse in take-out – especially amidst a plot-twisting pandemic.

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Clean Break: Saying Goodbye to Single-Use Plastic Jul 08, 2021

This week, we’re listening in on a panel discussion, originally recorded last month on World Oceans Day (June 8, 2021), which analyzes the impact of human actions on the ocean. In this special livestream hosted by ESGX, Upstream CEO Matt Prindiville moderated a discussion with reuse experts from companies such as Newday Impact Investing, r.Cup/r.Ware, Loop, TerraCycle and Dishcraft Robotics, on how we can come together to break away from single-use plastic and develop a worldwide movement to support the sustainable management of the world's oceans.

Resources:

Watch the livestream recording on YouTube
Learn more about Newday Impact Investing and ESGX live events.

Citizen Science for a World Without Waste Jul 01, 2021

Happy #PlasticFreeJuly! One of the most powerful ways for people to engage in the Break Free From Plastic movement is the global brand audit project. In this episode, we talk with Global Brand Audit Coordinator Sybil Bullock and hear from leaders around the world about how this citizen science initiative is helping to catalyze change by identifying the companies most responsible for plastic pollution.

Also featuring: Laura Hernandez of Gwinnett Recycles, Nirere Sadrach of End Plastic Pollution, Mark Penalver of Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS), Inc., Jake with the Climate Reality Project, and Thara and Nina of ECOTON & River Warriors.

Resources:

The Heart Behind the Upstream Rebrand Jun 26, 2021

Last week, Upstream unveiled a new brand identity which we feel really conveys who we are and our core values – to be Innovative, Inspiring, Invitational and Inclusive. The new Upstream logo symbolizes the circular reuse economy and incorporates a heart to emphasize our passion for the mission we’re working towards – and that everything we do is with heart and soul. Tune in with Matt Prindiville to learn what motivated Upstream’s rebrand.

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Bringing Reuse in Restaurants to Life with Just Salad Jun 24, 2021

This week, Matt Prindiville chats with Sandra Noonan, Chief Sustainability Officer at Just Salad, a fast-casual restaurant chain on a mission to make everyday health and sustainability possible. Just Salad’s innovative BringBack Bowl pilot program gives customers the option to receive their pickup or delivery orders in a signature reusable and returnable bowl. Dig into the details of the BringBack Bowl pilot’s success so far and get a glimpse at how both Sandra’s and Just Salad’s reuse journeys began – and where they’re headed.

Resources:

Reuse Wins: A Case for Reuse in Food Service Jun 17, 2021

In this episode, we celebrate the launch of Reuse Wins – a hot-off-the-digital-press report by Upstream that shows how a new reuse economy is emerging to replace single-use products in food service. We dive deep into the weeds of life-cycle analysis (LCA) and economic data to understand why Reuse Wins and what our world will look like when we transition to a new reuse economy where throw-away goes away. With Upstream’s policy director, Miriam Gordon, who authored the report and Minal Mistry, business initiatives lead with the Oregon Department for Environmental Quality.

Resources:

Embodied Activism: The What, Why, and How Jun 10, 2021

When working within a system designed to disconnect us from our bodies, the choice to be “embodied” becomes part of our activism to transform ourselves and our world. This episode explores the challenges of staying centered in world-changing work, and tips and tricks to practice embodied activism in our work and in our everyday lives – from acknowledging what we don’t know to following pleasure and embracing grief to working with the body to transform conflict into connection. Tune in for thoughtful stories and ideas to help stay on course in a world seemingly designed to shake us. With Brooking Gatewood and Si Thacker.

Resources:

Arnold Mindell and the Process Work Institute

Pleasure Activism by Adrienne Marie Brown

My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem

Understanding the Drama Triangle

Also mentioned:

Sobonfu Some on Embracing Grief
Camille Barton’s work on Embodied Social Change
Reverend Angel Kyodo Williams website is full of talks on meditation, sitting with discomfort, and other related topics
The Embodied Social Justice Summit, with talks from many of these references and more

Overcoming corporate challenges to protect the ocean Jun 03, 2021

Dave Ford, CEO of the Ocean Plastic Leadership Network (OPLN), brings together a diverse group of leaders, organizations and interests working to end the flow of plastics into the world’s oceans. Learn how OPLN’s 15-million-strong network of waste collectors – including plastics supply chain companies, NGOs, environmental organizations, public sector leaders, and representatives – is coming together to overcome the shared challenges of corporate business operations and protect marine ecosystems.

Resources:

Consumption (and Contraception) in the Age of Extinction May 27, 2021

Over the past 50 years, as the human population doubled, wildlife populations halved. Join a thought-provoking discussion with Kelley Dennings, Population and Sustainability Campaigner at the Center of Biological Diversity. Learn about her work to connect human population growth with threats to endangered species and wild places – and how we can change our impact by addressing population and consumption issues in ways that advance human rights and build just, sustainable economies.

Resources

Reuse To-Go: Innovations in Takeout & Delivery May 20, 2021

If you’ve ordered takeout or delivery from a local restaurant, you’ve had the same experience over and over: your delicious meal is being served in a disposable container that’s used for a matter of minutes and then thrown away. Fortunately, the number of reusable systems in food service is growing. On May 12, 2021, we welcomed three special guests who are innovating solutions for the hardest-to-hack challenges around single-use packaging: Keiko Niccolini from r.Cup/r.Ware, Lauren Sweeney from DeliverZero and Paul Liotsakis from Sparkl Reusables. Tune in for a lively discussion about how their businesses are adapting – and even thriving – during the pandemic, and how you can help bring their services to your own community.

Redefining the Win: Building Power from the Grassroots Up May 13, 2021

In policy organizing, we often define the win based on the outcome of a bill or ballot measure, with little regard for process. But when we think longer term about building real grassroots power, success is measured differently. In this episode, we talk with veteran power-building policy strategist Dana Laurent from the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center about a common mistake in progressive policy organizing that leaves communities most affected out of the conversation. Tune in and learn about principles and resources to help us redefine the wins for an indisposable future.

Resources:

Reduce, Reuse, Reship: Limeloop transforms home delivery May 06, 2021

The process is simple: when you go to place an online order from Toad & Co, click the “reuse” button at checkout and your order will arrive in reusable packaging. Then, all that’s left is to unwrap your items, flip the label around, and put the bag back in your mailbox. Toad & Co is the first company to pilot this new packaging system, created by featured guest Ashley Etling of LimeLoop and her co-founder, Chantal Emmanuel. Listen in to learn how LimeLoop’s innovation could completely change the way products are delivered to our homes – and how smarter technology can lead to a more sustainable future.

Learn More:

LimeLoop

info@thelimeloop.com

Reuse Business Directory - Packaging

Big brands turn to refill with Algramo Apr 29, 2021

Join UPSTREAM CEO Matt Prindiville and Algramo’s Brian Bauer in a ground-breaking conversation about reuse solutions that make everyday goods like detergent and dish soap accessible to low income households without all the waste. Algramo is a Chile-based startup partnering with some of the largest brands in the world – including Unilever, Nestle and Colgate – to provide their products through innovative refill “vending” machines. Tune in to learn how this up-and-coming startup is paving the way for big businesses to embrace reuse and reduce waste in communities.

Learn More:

Algramo
Email Brian Bauer: brian@algramo.com

Changing the narrative: environmental justice and plastic production Apr 22, 2021

In celebration of Earth Day, we invite you into a very special dialogue with Juan Macias, tribal chairman and hereditary chief of the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, Mary Aguilera with the Ohio Poor People’s Campaign, and Sylvia McKenzie with the Louisiana League of Conscious Voters. These front-line leaders dive deep and wide into the heart of the problem with petrochemical production in the US, as well as the powerful solution of solidarity. Co-hosted with Break Free From Plastic’s Melissa Aguayo.

Learn more and support:

The Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas
The Ohio Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
Louisiana League of Conscious Voters: Contact sylviamckenzie79@gmail.com if you want to support this group!
More Petrochem Buildout Actions & Resources from Break Free From Plastic

A big bet on upstream innovation Apr 15, 2021

Some of our listeners may have heard of Dame Ellen MacArthur, the famed sailor who set the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation around the globe.

But what people may not know is that she also started the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF), which has become one of the world’s most influential environmental organizations – working to inspire a generation to re-think, re-design and build a circular economy.

In this episode, Matt Prindiville talks to Sarah Wingstread, Program Manager for Innovation at EMF’s New Plastics Economy Initiative about applying root-cause – upstream! – solutions to address our plastic waste crisis through elimination, reuse, and material circulation. She also walks through highlights from their latest report which she co-authored, Upstream Innovation: A Guide to Packaging Solutions.

Resources:

Ellen Mac Arthur Foundation’s Upstream Innovation Report and Guide

UPSTREAM’s Publications and Key Reports

The New Reuse Economy

Reuse Business Directory

All my takeout has delivered a mountain of trash. So I asked experts how to minimize it

An indisposable future for your baby Apr 01, 2021

Check out our first episode featuring babies (you will hear them playing in the background!) as we discuss one solution to the challenge of sustainable, affordable, practical diapers. EarthDiaper.org a California-based nonprofit offering compostable diapers to families in need, was founded to address this problem on a local scale. We speak with public health nurse turned nonprofit founder Lily Broberg Strong as well as the director and two young mothers from the women’s shelter that EarthDiaper serves with its closed loop compostable diaper service. Prepare to be inspired by these amazing women making an indisposable future a reality every day in their local community.

Resources:

The Reuse Revolution is (A)live: A conversation with rCup’s Michael Martin and Keiko Niccolini Mar 25, 2021

Back in the pre-pandemic days, some of our listeners may have attended a concert or an event where r.Cup provided their reusable cup service to replace single-use cups. And one of the special things that they did was work with some of the world’s biggest artists, like U2, Jack Johnson, and the Rolling Stones to engage their audiences around reuse.

BUT r.Cup is about a lot more than just reusable cups. Like UPSTREAM, they’re working to build and support the reuse movement to disrupt single-use across the board, and this year they’re expanding into reusable to-go ware for take-out and delivery with their new initiative r.Ware.

Resources: (include links to resources mentioned in episode as appropriate)

Uplifting reuse heroes: the story of UPSTREAM Mar 18, 2021

What did Americans do before we had public waste management? What did UPSTREAM do before the plastic pollution movement began? What were the big turning points that got us to this dawn of Reuse we find ourselves entering in 2021? What’s the world we’ll live in after plastic pollution is gone? From 1800s horse poop to today’s innovative reuse companies, paddle along through this conversation with UPSTREAM CEO Matt Prindiville and Indisposable Podcast co-host Brooking Gatewood as they tell the tale of UPSTREAM.

Resources:

2021 Plastics Policy Roundup Mar 10, 2021

This episode features a “power hour” with three experts working across the political spectrum from federal to state to local policy. Listen to Yinka Bode-George from the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators, Judith Enck from Beyond Plastics, and UPSTREAM’s own Miriam Gordon to learn what 2021 holds for plastics policy under the new Biden administration. You’ll learn about what types of plastics and packaging-related bills are being introduced, including the federal Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act. You’ll also get some good old fashioned policy wonkery about extended producer responsibility for packaging and deposit-return systems for beverage containers. And how reuse policy is moving forward at the city and state level – even during the pandemic.

You can also check out the video of this episode on our YouTube Channel.

Helpful resources to dig in more:

Disrupting Disposable Food Service Feb 18, 2021

Samantha Sommer built a project called Rethink Disposable that helped several hundred food service providers in the San Francisco Bay Area make the shift from single-use to reuse. From mom & pop restaurants, to chains, to institutional dining and college and corporate campuses – Sam helped prove that every single business has saved money once they made the shift to using reusable foodware.

Since joining UPSTREAM as Director of Business of Innovation last year, Sam has been hard at work promoting the benefits of reuse in food service and engaging communities and businesses in co-creating the new reuse economy (even during a pandemic!). Through proven models she’s developed, she’s able to show businesses how shifting to reuse can save money and help remove barriers to creating a sustainable reuse service infrastructure.

Resources:

The United States of Plastic Jan 21, 2021

The New Year is a time for accountability and making commitments for healthier behavior in the year ahead, right? Well, then no better place to start the year than looking at the US’s new ranking as the #1 plastic polluter in the world. Not exactly a cause for celebration, but where there is culpability there is also opportunity for accountability. Listen in to hear UPSTREAM CEO Matt Prindiville talk with world-renowned scientists Jenna Jambeck, PhD and Kara Lavender Law, PhD about their latest findings – and what we can do about it.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

The United States’ contribution of plastic waste to land and ocean
Video of this episode.

An Indisposable Holiday Season Dec 11, 2020

Many of us will be engaging in gift exchanges this December. Whether it's Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day or New Year’s, ‘tis the season for buying stuff. But we can still participate in the spirit of the holidays without all the waste! This episode – featuring Kate Nelson (Plastic-Free Mermaid) and Plaine Products CEO Lindsey McCoy – explores all sorts of ideas, from reuse gift sets to recycled wrapping paper. Listen in and share with your friends for great tips on how to give more love and less waste this holiday. And remember to use discount code “UPSTREAM” when shopping from Plaine Products for 20% off your order (which also gives a 10% donation to UPSTREAM)!

Resource Links:

www.plaineproducts.com for starter gift sets to inspire loved-ones to try use, and don’t forget coupon code UPSTREAM for 20% off!
Iquitplastics.com for more tips and resources from Kate Nelson and to buy her new book I Quit Plastic: and you can too. Also listen to our first episode with Kate, Plastic-free mermaids, if you haven’t yet.
Simplytheholidays.org for tips on supporting reuse while still celebrating
Plastic Pollution Coalition’s Thoughtful Gift Guide has some more great ideas
Loopstore.com: the guests featured on our last episode and now the world’s fastest growing reuse marketplace!

From worm poop to Loop: Tom Szaky's journey into the reuse movement Nov 23, 2020

Join UPSTREAM CEO Matt Prindiville as he interviews Tom Szaky, a self-described eco-capitalist, who launched Terracycle from his dorm room at Princeton in 2003. Terracycle works with brands to collect and repurpose their hard-to-recycle waste and operates in over 20 countries, engaging more than 80 million people. Fifteen years later, Tom leveraged his relationships with name brands to create Loop Store as a platform for companies to sell their products in reusable packaging. And they just expanded their platform to serve fast food in reusable packaging with McDonald’s, Burger King and Tim Hortons.

Resources:

This is what Burger King's new reusable packaging looks like (CNN Business)
How We’re Partnering with Loop to Innovate Packaging and Reduce Waste (McDonald’s)
Tim Hortons Announces Reusable, Returnable Coffee Cups (Treehugger)
Sustaining Positivity in a Pandemic (Indisposable Podcast episode #23)

The Plastic Shift - Learning from Young Solutioneers Oct 29, 2020

Ayleen Farnood and Madhav Malhotra are two high school students in Toronto, Canada, who were concerned by the plastic pollution crisis and curious to learn how to help. Their shared interest sparked a deep learning journey, which gave birth to the Plastic Shift an organization already getting a lot of public attention. The pair has conducted extensive interviews and research to learn from experts and synthesize their discoveries into resources which include a podcast, blogs, and a stellar website: theplasticshift.com. In this episode we discuss some of their more interesting discoveries, including the promise of impact investing, extended producer responsibility, circular economy, and how to keep the work fun.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Holding Big Business Accountable Oct 16, 2020

Related Links:

Waste and Opportunity 2020: Searching for Corporate Leadership

Listen now & subscribe to The Indisposable Podcast to stay updated on more solutions-focused inspirations!

Racial Justice & Environmentalism: Together & Inseparable Oct 08, 2020

This episode features our livestream originally aired September 24, 2020 hosted by UPSTREAM Board member Letise LaFeir. Environmental justice leaders Mustafa Santiago Ali and Miriam Torres join us for a frank discussion about race, the environmental movement, and intersectionality.

Get ready for an incredibly rich and educational discussion, and be sure to share this one widely.

Students Can Be Teachers, Too (especially in climate action) Sep 17, 2020

Sithara Menon and Valerie Nguyen started organizing as soon as they got into college, and have each seen significant success – from historic California climate legislation to the recent UC-wide ban on single-use plastics.

In this episode, we talk with these young leaders about this epic win, what’s next for students working to #breakfreefromplastic, and what they’re learning about digital organizing in these times of COVID-19.

Sustaining Small Business during COVID Sep 10, 2020

Small businesses have been struggling amidst the constraints of COVID-19, but Vanessa Pope’s story of Mudlab is one of resilience, resourcefulness, and the power of community-based business. In this episode, we learn how this visionary Oakland resident has built a hub for reuse community with creative partnerships, serving locals a lot more than just coffee. We also hear Vanessa’s take on how reuse can save businesses money and help weather difficult times.

Vanessa Pope is an educator by trade, an associate with ReThink Disposable, and the cofounder of MudLab, a community resource center, event space and zero-waste grocery store in North Oakland.

Myth-busting with Public Health Experts: The Safety of Single-use Aug 20, 2020

With COVID-19 came opportunistic marketing for the plastics industry, resulting in people all over the world using more single-use stuff under the misguided notion that it is “safer.”

This summer, over 115 health experts from around the world signed onto an evidence-based statement to validate the truth behind safe sustainability: Reusables are safe during a virus outbreak. In this episode, we speak with some of the organizers and signatories of this Health Expert Statement about why it’s so important to dispel the myths and misconceptions – for personal and public health, the planet, and for environmental justice.

Featuring UPSTREAM’s own Miriam Gordon, Michele Okoh of Duke University, Dr. Anthony Panzera of American University, and Michelle Nowlin from Duke as well.

Plastic-Free Solutioneers Aug 10, 2020

This episode features winners from UPSTREAM’s recent Plastic Free July contest, where we passed the mic to our listeners to highlight your stories of how you are building a #betterwaythanthrowaway.

Our featured winners are Maladen Gayuek, Cofounder and CEO of PlasticScore, an app that rates restaurants on their single-use plastic usage; Jess Blasko, who is developing a COVID-friendly Refill Station in Portsmouth, New Hampshire; and Ryan Cope, who amplifies stories of sustainability successes through her work with Seven in the Ocean.

Adventures in Activism: the Story of 5 Gyres Jul 23, 2020

From rafting down the Mississippi to a fishing line ring proposal on a sail to the trash gyres in the middle of the ocean, Marcus Erickson’s life is an ongoing adventure story. Also a PhD scientist and activist and co-founder of 5 Gyres, Marcus’s adventures these days are all about doing good through research and activism to address plastic pollution. In this episode we dive deep with Marcus to hear about some of his many historic expeditions, his perspective on the growth of the plastic pollution movement over the last decade, and how 5 Gyres is supporting the next generation of world-changers.

Listen now & subscribe to The Indisposable Podcast to stay updated on more solutions-focused inspirations!

From White Environmentalism to Anti-Racism Jul 09, 2020

Many environmental organizations are trying to figure out how to become anti-racist in a space with a longstanding history of both intentional and unintentional racism and exclusion. Many white leaders in our movement are simultaneously grappling with a personal history of ignorance and inaction on the problem of racism in America.

In this candid co-interview, Brooking and UPSTREAM’s Executive Director, Matt Prindivile talk about their personal and professional learning journeys, their shared work to shift culture and practice at UPSTREAM, and the crucial role of racial justice in the #breakfreefromplastic movement.

For resources mentioned in this episode, go to: www.upstreamsolutions.org/podcasts/from-white-environmentalism-to-anti-racism

The Safety and Future of Reuse Jul 02, 2020

Listen to in an interactive and hopeful conversation about the safety and future of reuse in America with epidemiologist Dr. Ben Locwin and entrepreneurs Tom Szaky and Lindsey Hoell. We discuss how reuse solutions and systems can help:
- save businesses money
- get people back to work
- protect public health
- stop plastic pollution & reduce waste

Step Inside with Letise LaFeir Jun 19, 2020

Like millions around the world right now, at UPSTREAM we’ve been talking a lot about racial justice in America. We’ve been holding in our hearts the countless Black Americans who’ve effectively been treated as disposable in our society and justice system. We’ve been meeting as a team to look at how we can do more and better to support change. And we’ve been looking at how our work building a reuse economy intersects with the work of environmental and racial justice, and with Black Lives Matter in particular.

We decided to explore these important questions with a very special guest with a crucial perspective, Letise LaFeir. A member of UPSTREAM’s board, Letise is an incredibly accomplished scientist and policy professional who has spent her career in ocean conservation, as well as a mother of two. Listen in to learn more about her personal story and the connections to address both racism and environmental destruction.

Once Upon a Beautiful Disruption May 29, 2020

What’s a beautiful disruption? A culture hack? A story war?

How do big events like pandemics change the stories we tell about our world? And how can we help shape that change toward the more beautiful world we want to live in?

Join Dancing Fox co-founders Brian Fitzgerald and Tommy Crawford for this deep dive into the wondrous world of re-shaping social norms. Must-hear episode for all artists, activists, entrepreneurs, and influencers (hint: that’s you!).

This one’s a bit longer because we can’t get enough of these two. Stay tuned for more better-world stories in times of change, and check them out at https://www.dancing-fox.com/

Sustaining Positivity in a Pandemic Apr 21, 2020

The recycling industry has been taking a hit the last few years, and since COVID-19, rates have dropped about 50 - 60%. But the spike in single-use waste and plummet in recycling doesn’t stop Terracycle founder & CEO Tom Szaky from feeling optimistic about the future of reuse in America. Tune in for the latest from Tom as he continues combatting plastic pollution through business models, and get the latest on what’s next for LOOP, Terracycle’s revolutionary pilot that provides leading brand products in reusable containers around the world.

To learn more about LOOP, check out episode 10, THE MODERN DAY MILKMAN, and visit loopstore.com to incorporate reuse into your shelter-in-place shopping!

For more on COVID impacts on plastic pollution, visit upstreamsolutions.org/stay-informed.

Listen now & subscribe to The Indisposable Podcast to stay plugged into the latest sustainability solutions.

Reuse, Resilience, and COVID-19 Mar 23, 2020

We all gotta eat, and we all deserve the safest possible packaging and access to food. Here’s how you can protect the food coming into your home and support local businesses during the coronavirus outbreak, with a look at greater systems change.

In this special feature, we explore food safety and concerns around COVID-19 with Jane Muncke, PhD ecotoxicologist and Managing Director of the Food Packaging Forum, and Matt Prindiville, UPSTREAM Imagineer & CEO. This episode celebrates solutions for our immune systems and public health, so we can emerge from this unprecedented time safer and stronger together.

This is an episode you won’t want to miss! Please let us know if there are any topics you’d like us to cover by reaching us at info@upstreamsolutions.org – and SUBSCRIBE to stay tuned in to the latest from UPSTREAM.

Running for Change with Sam Bencheghib Mar 12, 2020

“No idea is crazy enough to change the world... but you might as well try.”

This is the motto and mindset of the Make a Change team, a trio of siblings who grew up in Bali and decided as pre-teens to start working on one of the biggest challenges they saw in their community: plastic pollution. The organization uses adventure and social media as a vehicle for behavior and policy change. In this episode, we hear about Sam’s epic feat of running 117 back-to-back marathons across 13 states - the ups and downs, the impacts of his passion on people and places along the way, and his big plans for the future with Make a Change.

Listen now & subscribe to The Indisposable Podcast to stay updated on more solutions-focused inspirations!

And learn more from Sam and his siblings at

https://makeachange.world/

Cups: the Gateway Drug to Throw-Away Culture? Feb 13, 2020

In this episode we get a glimpse into the future of the throw-away free city with Vessel founder and CEO, Dagny Tucker. Vessel is bring reusable cup sharing systems to cities across the US and helping Americans ditch throw-away culture, one cup at a time.

But for Dagny, a behavior change specialist, designer and ideator, it’s not just about cups. Vessel is all making every day values-aligned action easier and helping individuals feel empowered to be part of the change they want to see in the world. Dagny shares the research and philosophy behind behavior change that drive Vessel, and how choosing reuse at the coffee shop can be a gateway action.

Diving into an Indisposable Economy Jan 16, 2020

Incredible things are possible when our professional lives align with our personal values. We explore some of them with Berna Tural, who shares how scuba diving took her from a successful corporate career to dedicating her life to solving our plastic pollution crisis.

Berna is now Director of Strategic Partnerships & Initiatives at UPSTREAM, where she’s helping us build a better way than throw-away with reuse business models across America, and she’s starting in New York. Tune into her inspiring story and get some sneak peeks into what we’re up to in NYC and beyond!

Listen now

Unbottling Water: The New Refill Economy Nov 08, 2019

Ready for some inspiration about how awesome the future without throw-away bottles is going to be—and how much is happening already to get there? Meet Samuel Ian Rosen, the visionary ecopreneur with some serious chops at scaling business solutions to real world challenges.

After building a game-changing storage solution company, Samuel brought his entrepreneurial problem-solving skills to the issue of plastic bottles and access to clean water. By turning the concept of a search engine into a “thirst engine,” he has quickly developed and grown Tap, a sustainable hydration company on a mission to eliminate the single-use plastic bottle. An invaluable app for refilling clean water on-the-go, Tap maps refill-friendly businesses, stations, and fountains across 30 countries and growing. With his app, so as long as you have your own bottle, you never need to buy a bottle of water ever again.

Learn more about the savvy global movement eliminating the need for throw-away bottles by making refill accessible and convenient across the world. Check out www.findtap.com and @findtap on instagram to get involved!

Listen now & subscribe to The Indisposable Podcast to stay updated on more solutions-focused inspirations!

Ad Campaigns for Social Change Oct 29, 2019

Lucky for us and the planet, pop culture campaign experts have joined the global force of change agents bringing their hearts and minds to the issue of plastic pollution.

In this episode we talk with culture creator and social marketer Emma Riley, Strategic Partnership Director for Lonely Whale - the organization that helped put the plastic pollution issue on the mainstream map in a big way with their #stopsucking campaign in 2017.

This year, Lonely Whale was named one of Fast Company's "World's Most Innovative Companies" of 2019, and they are at it again right now with the recently launched and influencer-backed #hydratelike campaign.

This episode looks ‘under the hood’ on Lonely Whale’s campaigns. We talk about the crucial role of market research, how social marketing compares with community organizing, lessons learned, and more.

For more on the campaigns we discuss, check out:

https://www.lonelywhale.org/stopsucking

https://www.hydratelike.org/

museumofplastic.org

Non-Partisan Plastic Oct 02, 2019

How can we keep plastic pollution a non-partisan issue? Why is this so important?

As elections politics and recycling trade wars heat up in the US, we turn to UK-based strategist Emma Priestland for some perspective. We touch on the topics of global and European plastics impacts, economics, unique lessons from UK politics and policy, narrative strategy, and more.

Emma has been working on plastic pollution policy and campaigning for the better part of the past decade. When this episode was recorded, Emma was working as a plastic pollution campaigner with Friends of the Earth UK. A marine biologist by training and expert in marine pollution, she has worked tirelessly to build a circular economy and support smart waste and packaging legislation as a policy officer for Seas At Risk. Emma recently took on an exciting new role as Corporate Campaigns Coordinator for Break Free From Plastic.

Listen now to Non-Partisan Plastic & subscribe to The Indisposable Podcast to stay updated on more tide-turning solutions!

Learn more about some of the campaigns we discuss in this episode at

https://friendsoftheearth.uk/plastics

.

Force of Nature Sep 10, 2019

Activism at its best is not a choice but a call - a response to injustice. Diane Wilson’s story exemplifies this, and in this interview, we get the gift of speaking with this 70 year force of nature and shrimp fisherwoman turned pollution activist. Diane has written many books, won many awards, undergone many hunger strikes and days in jail for her civil disobedience brand of activism, co-founded Code Pink, and is known as an’‘unreasonable woman’, an ‘eco-outlaw’, and all around hell-raiser. She is fierce, dedicated, and full of humor, grit, wisdom and inspiration for anyone interested - or afraid - to do more to stand up to abuses of power.

Like many of us, Diane did not aim to be an activist, but was called to become one when she realized something she loved - her home county and its surrounding waters - was under threat. So Diane has dedicated the last 30 years of her life to protecting waters in the Texas gulf from industrial pollution. And exactly 30 years after she first began her water activism, in 2019 Diane and other Texas citizens won a tremendous victory in a rare citizen-led lawsuit against Formosa Plastics. After four years of data collection and legal process, the company has been deemed guilty of illegal dumping of plastic pellets, or ‘nurdles’, into Lavaca Bay, with millions of dollars in fines likely to come in a final trial this fall.

Diane’s activism is rooted in her relationship with her environemnt. She shares that in having her family’s roots in one place for 120 years, she doesn’t see the place as a resource, but as a living, breathing element of family. For those of us who don’t have 120 years of family history in a place - that’s okay, she says, just start with intention. Start by getting out of the air-conditioned offices sometimes and into direct relation with the earth. She reminds us that when we can truly connect with the earth, it has a lot of energy to give, and that this can fuel our efforts to become forces of nature ourselves to protect the places we love.

You can learn more about Diane’s story and books at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Wilson.

Here’s one of many stories on the Formosa lawsuit win:
https://www.texastribune.org/2019/06/28/federal-judge-rules-lawsuit-formosa-plastics-texas-pollution-case/

And here’s how you can get involved: https://www.stopformosa.org

Take Away Without Throw-Away: Reuse Made Easy with CupClub Aug 23, 2019

Reusable mugs: you’ve bought and used them, loved and lost and forgotten them, replaced and reused them. Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to remember to bring your mug everywhere you go to be part of the reusable revolution?

Wouldn’t it be great if cities had cup shares that work like our bike shares? Thankfully, some brilliant innovators are on it!

In this episode we talk with Safia Qureshi, an award-winning architect, innovation designer and educator, and founder of CupClub™ - a returnable packaging service for drinks that launched in the UK in 2018. Safia shares the nitty gritty design challenges involved in creating CupClub, and the world-changing potential of this circular economy solution.

Listen now to & subscribe to The Indisposable Podcast to stay updated on more solutions-focused inspiration!

Learn more at https://cupclub.com/

Indisposable Concessions Aug 07, 2019

We all know that single-use plastic pollution harms marine life, so what better place to model throw-away free concessions than America’s aquariums?

In this episode we talk with Aimee David, the Ocean Conservation Policy Director for Monterey Bay Aquarium, a co-creator of the Aquarium Conservation Partnership, and visionary advocate for throw-away free venues and policy. Aimee shares the story of how Monterey Bay Aquarium has paved a path to reuse-based concessions that offers a model for transitioning food service away from single-use disposables. Listen in for some golden lessons learned, inspiring stories, and visionary exploration of how iconic venues can help transition our culture away from throw-away.

Listen now & subscribe to The Indisposable Podcast to stay updated on more solutions-focused inspirations!

Find out more at: https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/conservation-and-science/our-priorities/ocean-plastic-pollution

Vending Machine Makeover Jul 23, 2019

Vending machines - the place where you get stale, single serve, plastic-packaged snacks when you have nowhere else to turn, right? Not so fast!

Slow food meets convenience for reuse on-the-go in this episode, where we talk with Chloe Vichot, a New York City food ecopreneur and the co-founder of Fresh Bowl - the world’s first vending machine for fresh, local, healthy, throw-away-free meals.

Learn about Chloe’s journey from growing up in France to the culture shock of fast food America, to finding her a calling to bring health and simplicity back to our plates here in the States. You’ll hear also about the practical challenges, lessons learned, and creative solutions in implementing this exciting urban food system innovation.

Listen now, and as always, subscribe to The Indisposable Podcast to stay updated on more solutions-focused inspirations!

Learn more at https://www.myfreshbowl.com/.

The Story of Plastic Jul 03, 2019

In this episode, we get real with Stiv Wilson, an unparalleled advocate currently serving as Campaigns Director for the Story of Stuff Project, director of The Story of Plastic, and as a founding member of the Break Free From Plastic global steering committee.

Stiv shares about unique vantage point on the evolution of plastic movement strategy - from some big early wins like banning microbeads in the US to the recent Global Brand Audit campaign, plus from a focus on ocean impacts to a global strategy that tackles the issue from a human rights perspective across the entire supply chain.

We also get a sneak peek into the making and key messages of the Story of Plastic, a visually powerful documentary coming out this fall that tells the story of the true scope and scale of the plastic pollution problem, as well as some emerging solutions across the globe.

Listen now for a rich and geeky discussion about movement strategy and the incredible global effort happening through #breakfreefromplastic, the movement helping make throw-away so yesterday.

The Modern Day Milkman Jun 20, 2019

With the hard work of TerraCycle and brands large and small around the world, the Loop store - https://loopstore.com/ - is now live for residents of Paris and the Mid-Atlantic United States.

Loop is a global circular shopping platform designed to eliminate the idea of waste by transforming the products and packaging of everyday items from single-use to durable, multi-use, feature-packed designs. Working in the US with Walgreens and Krogers and many additional partners, this program is a first ever effort to bring major brand products to your door and back to the brands to clean and reuse packaging. The modern milkman may look more like a UPS driver, and they very well may be changing the game of how we get our everyday household products, without all the single use waste.

While we know there are some awesome smaller scale versions of this idea out there already (check out www.PlaineProducts.com, for example, & use coupon code “UPSTREAM” for 20% off!), Loop has the attention of just about everyone working on the global plastic challenge for the potential scalability and game-changing nature of this solution. In this interview we learn all about the ins and outs, challenges and promise of the Loop pilot from Terracycle’s Anthony Rossi.

Listen now to The Modern Milkman & subscribe to The Indisposable Podcast to stay updated on more solutions-focused inspirations!

Slow Music with Rising Appalachia May 18, 2019

What does sustainability look like on the road and across the globe as touring musicians? We asked Rising Appalachia, a tremendously talented and soulful band rooted in southern music tradition with their own modern twist. Its founding sisters, Leah and Chloe Smith from New Orleans incorporate world and urban influences with both timely and timeless lyrics to remind us of our shared humanity and responsibility for social and climate justice.

In their globe-trotting journeys, the group has been practicing what they call the ‘Slow Music’ approach to sustainable touring - reducing the needless plastic waste of music events and connecting with local communities and food systems wherever they can.

This episode features a reflective live conversation with Leah before the group’s Los Angeles release party for their new album Leylines, discussing the Slow Music Movement as well as their fresh new album, available now on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Tidal.

Beauty without Waste May 09, 2019

What if we didn’t need plastic bottles and toxic ingredients to take care of our hair and skin? This is the premise behind Samudra Skin & Sea, a wild seaweed skincare brand that also cares for the ocean.

Shilpi is a friendly force of nature, and in this episode she shares about the pleasures and challenges of running a values-driven business, about how she leverages the Samudra brand to minimize harm from consumer products and raise awareness on bigger global issues like ocean and plastic pollution, and how she balances it all with her day job.

Listen now to learn more about beauty without waste.

Subscribe to The Indisposable Podcast to stay updated on more solutions-focused inspirations!

The Creative Power of Limits Apr 25, 2019

When you live on a tiny island, the reality that waste has nowhere to go becomes very real. And when you live in a small community where everyone knows each other, banding together to find creative solutions to the challenges of waste management can lead to some pretty amazing solutions.

Listen in for some great insights into the creative power of both limits and community with eco-artist and Zero Waste educator Nikyta Palmisani of Lopez Island, Washington. This 2400 resident island is well on it’s way to becoming a truly Zero Waste community thanks in no small part to the unusual work being done by Nikyta and friends at the Lopez Solid Waste Disposal District.

Lopez Solid Waste Disposal District (LSWDD) is an award winning community run waste, recycling, and reuse center with many innovative programs - from a volunteer-run free store to a youth-led ReMake Lab. Nikyta serves as their Training, Education & Outreach Coordinator and gives us the inside scoop on social activism, artistry, innovation and a maker mentality can help turn waste to gold.

Listen now to learn more about this unique story, and SUBSCRIBE to The Indisposable Podcast to stay updated on more solutions-focused inspirations!

Bringing Back the Lunch Box Apr 07, 2019

We are all influencers - whether we are famous celebrities like this week’s guest or leaders in our local communities, friend groups, and workplaces.

In this episode, we talk to Masters of Sex star Caitlin Fitzgerald about how she brings her values and activism into her work as an actress. Caitlin shares the story of her personal journey toward living her throw-away-free values in her every day life - from making reuse cool at home and on set to pushing back on fast fashion trends and treating each other better on set. There is no throw-away in Caitlin’s vision of a more beautiful world, and she gets a lot of meaning from simply taking action to live her values every day.

Though we may not all have as much public spotlight, there is a lot we can all learn from Caitlin’s journey to move beyond throw-away culture and become influencers in our own lives.

Listen now, & subscribe to The Indisposable Podcast to stay updated on more solutions-focused inspirations!

Materials Detox Mar 25, 2019

Think compostables are healthier than other packaging solutions? You may want to check out Mind the Store’s report on PFAS chemicals at top grocery chain for a disturbing reality check on these chemicals in compostables and other food packaging.

And is it a coincidence that Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s made bold commitments to reduce PFAS chemicals in their products the same week this report came out? We think not.

Listen to learn about the behind the scenes strategy that went into this and other big toxics campaign wins from one of the great minds in social change work in America, Mike Schade.

Mike currently spearheads the Mind the Store campaign for the Safer Chemicals Healthy Families Coalition, which pressures retailers to take more leadership on getting toxic chemicals off their shelves and develop systemic safer chemicals policies. He’s a bit of an unsung hero who has quietly led award-winning policy and corporate campaigns that have helped phase out toxic chemicals and materials like PVC plastic, phthalates, BPA and dioxin, flame retardants, methylene chloride, and now PFAS. We can all thank him for reducing our everyday exposure to some nasty chemicals that should have never been in our homes in the first place, which is probably why Ethisphere Magazine listed him as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics for 2007.

Quick links on some of the recent wins discussed in this episode:
Take Out Toxics report
Whole Foods win
This just in: EPA ban on consumer uses of paint strippers!

Listen now to hear about some of Mike’s secrets to success, & subscribe to The Indisposable Podcast to stay updated on more solutions-focused inspirations!

Culture Hacking the End of Plastic Feb 27, 2019

Remember when people used to smoke in restaurants? On airplanes!? How we used to make ashtrays in art class!? And how once upon a time that was all considered normal?

And are you old enough to remember life before fast-food drive throughs? That now ubiquitous part of American culture that results in billions of pieces of packaging waste each year did not even exist 50 years ago.

What can we learn from these major culture changes and how they have impacted our idea of what is normal? In this episode, we dive into these quirks of American history to help us envision a future where throw-away is so yesterday, with Matt Prindiville, Executive Director of UPSTREAM. Listen now for some big picture food for thought on how we really can make waste weird again.

Learn more about the programs Matt speaks about in this episode right here (www.upstreamsolutions.org)

Plastic-Free Mermaids Feb 26, 2019

Kate Nelson, aka the Plastic Free Mermaid, has been living without disposable plastics for over ten years. After an aha encounter with ocean plastics on a research vessel, Kate has explored just about every avenue of action to address our global plastic pollution crisis, from dressing up as mermaids for policy meetings to working with groups like San Diego Coast Keepers, Surfrider Foundation, and Jean Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Futures Society. She has become a bold and creative cultural influencer with a large social media following, a ‘Mercast’, blog and info-rich website www.iquitplastics.com. She leads ga and sailing retreats, her upcoming book, online tools, and personal coaching to help others live a more plastic free life.

In this episode we talk about her story and learning journey around how to have influence and impact on something you care about by radically changing your own life to align with your values. We talk about the ocean, traveling plastic free, what mermaids and selkies have to do with social change, and how living plastic-free can enrich your life.

If you’re inspired to learn more from Kate:
check out iquitplastics.com for resources ranging from free tips and downloads to personal coaching and webinars
Sign up for her upcoming 7 day learning, yoga, and sailing retreat in Figi this May!
Follow her on instagram (plasticfreemermaid) for regular updates, tips, and inspiration

Listen now to hear some mermaid tales from Kate, & subscribe to The Indisposable Podcast to stay updated on more solutions-focused inspirations!

Community First Feb 21, 2019

Plastic pollution harms human communities just as much as it harms the environment, and this harm falls disproportionately on communities of color here in the US and around the world. That’s why engaging those in ‘front-line communities’ - those most directly impacted by plastic pollution, is an essential part of any justice oriented movement. Learn all about best practices for environmental justice organizing in #breakfreefromplastic and beyond in this episode with Ahmina Maxey.

Ahmina’s background is in environmental justice organizing, having worked for nearly a decade in her hometown of Detroit, Michigan to protect the health and environment of the community. Through her work with the Zero Waste Detroit coalition she helped achieve citywide curbside recycling, and watch-dogged the Detroit incinerator (the largest in the country) resulting in millions of dollars in fines levied against the facility. As Associate Director of the East Michigan Environmental Action Council, Ahmina worked at the city and state-level to improve Detroit’s air quality, leading to the passage of numerous policies protecting the environment and health of Detroiters. She is a 2007 graduate of the University of Michigan, 2011 Green for all Fellow, 2014 recipient of the Sierra Club's Bunyan Bryant Environmental Justice Award, and was included on Grist's 2017 list of 50 emerging green leaders. Most recently she worked as the North America and Canada Regional Coordinator for the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, and has been part of the strategic leadership of Break Free From Plastic US. In 2019 she has taken on an exciting new role as co-director of the Transforming Power Fund in Detroit, Michigan, a new Detroit-based social justice fund committed to transformative systems change, and sponsored by Allied Media Projects.

Listen now to learn about community justice and plastic pollution, & subscribe to The Indisposable Podcast to stay updated on more solutions-focused inspirations!

A giant leap towards Throw-Away-Free Living Feb 21, 2019

On January 22nd, 2019, the city of Berkeley, CA made national history by unanimously voting for an ordinance that Mayor Jesse Arreguin called “the most ambitious, comprehensive legislation to reduce throw-away foodware in the United States.”

The Disposable-Free Berkeley Ordinance will require reusable dishware for dining onsite, compostable packaging & flatware for to-go orders, & a 25 cent charge on to-go cups. The victory in Berkeley proves that eliminating disposable pollution is an attainable goal citywide beyond on the zero waste individual level.

In this first episode of The Indisposable Podcast, we hear the whole story from two of the leaders behind the ordinance, UPSTREAM’s own Program Director Miriam Gordon, & the Berkeley Ecology Center’s Executive Director Martin Borque.

This one is especially close to our hearts and mission, as UPSTREAM intends to take Throw-Away-Free Communities across the States to optimize the health of our neighbors & environment.

Listen now to the story of how Berkeley is achieving the better way than throw-away & subscribe to The Indisposable Podcast to stay updated on solutions-focused stories!

Introducing The Indisposable Podcast Feb 20, 2019

UPSTREAM is pleased as punch to be Introducing a new podcast uplifting solutions to plastic pollution!

Each episode features interviews with UPSTREAM heroes - activists, alchemists, strategists, innovators, entrepreneurs, community leaders and other champions of the movement to end plastic pollution (and other needless waste, because it’s all connected, after all). We are focusing less on detailing the problem in this show, which is being done beautifully elsewhere, and more on amplifying solutions and stories of what’s already being done create the more sane and beautiful world we all want to live in. Because really inspiring things are happening right now, and we want more people to hear about them, get inspired, and get involved in creating a world without waste. If the future is a mosaic built of our vision (go with us here), each episode is a tile helping us see that beautiful future more clearly.

Listen to this very brief introductory episode to get a sneak peak at what’s ahead in season 1, and to meet your Indisposable Podcast host, Brooking Gatewood.

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