The Indisposable Podcast®

Latest Episodes:

Collaboration as the key to reuse innovation Jan 05, 2023

Show notes

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

Show notes

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.

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Scaling reuse with smart packaging Dec 15, 2022

Show notes

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.

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Closing the Digital Divide with Reuse Dec 08, 2022

Show notes

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.

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Envisioning the New Reuse Economy Dec 01, 2022

Show notes

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.

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Reuse on the World Stage Nov 22, 2022

Show notes

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.

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

Show notes

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.

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Real solutions in a virtual world Sep 15, 2022

Show notes

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.

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Indisposable Venture Capital Sep 08, 2022

Show notes

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.

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The Indisposable Podcast Turns 100! Sep 01, 2022

Show notes

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: