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

Coca Cola announced their commitment to serve 25% of their beverages in reusable packaging by 2030. Learn what this means for reusables in consumer brands and join us in commending their commitment to growing a circular economy for packaging that prioritizes “reduce and reuse” first – over recycling.

Walk through the history – and future – of bottle bills (aka deposit-refund systems) and explore how bottle bills were used in the past and what caused the shift from this reuse–refill economic model to the modern-era throw-away system.

Learn about Upstream’s roots and the journey of the zero waste movement. From the history of waste management to the innovation of extended producer responsibility policies, see how far we’ve come today.

As we welcome 2022, Upstream is also welcoming four new members of our Board.

Celebrating our accomplishments in 2021 – and what’s in store for 2022.

During Covid, the food industry had to shift to stay alive, and that meant running all operations in a take-out and delivery economy. It was a tragic time for the food service operators. But I also saw a huge problem growing from all the waste from the billions of take-out single-use items that flooded our homes and communities. And I wanted to turn it into an opportunity.

Upstream is excited to kick off a new series highlighting reuse success stories across the food service industry. First in line is Just Salad’s BringBack Bowl pilot program. We held a Q&A with Sandra Noonan, Chief Sustainability Officer at Just Salad, to learn more about the thought behind the program.

Reuse Wins, a new report from Upstream, shows how a new reuse economy is emerging to replace the use of single-use products in food service. The key findings in the report draw from life-cycle studies that compare the environmental impacts of disposables versus reusables, and project the potential cost savings to business and local government from transitioning to a new reuse economy.