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All the latest ideas and news from Upstream’s thought leaders and partners.

Erin Covey-Smith 1/15/25 Erin Covey-Smith 1/15/25

A year of policy, advocacy, and network support

Upstream’s policy team shares 2024 highlights.

Erin Covey-Smith 1/15/25 Erin Covey-Smith 1/15/25

The role of reuse in a Just Transition

We know reuse plays a crucial role in a just transition to a more sustainable economy—but we’ve not yet explicitly stated how and why this is so.

Erin Covey-Smith 1/9/25 Erin Covey-Smith 1/9/25

Reflections on our first Grand Canyon site visit

Our team recently completed its first site visit to the Grand Canyon, where we are orchestrating an unprecedented shift to 100% reuse at all South Rim dining facilities.

Erin Covey-Smith 12/19/24 Erin Covey-Smith 12/19/24

A Year of Growth and Impact

Celebrating a year of growth and acceleration—and giving thanks to all who helped us get here.

Erin Covey-Smith 12/12/24 Erin Covey-Smith 12/12/24

Key takeaways from the Resource Recycling Conference

Upstream’s first appearance at this conference geared toward waste management professionals and government staff.

Erin Covey-Smith 12/4/24 Erin Covey-Smith 12/4/24

Expanding the conversation

Upstream's Cerise Bridges offers her “notes from the field” after attending a conference about Chicago’s new sustainability law.

Erin Covey-Smith 10/31/24 Erin Covey-Smith 10/31/24

US & Canada Reuse Incentives and Grants Tracker

Upstream's Reuse Funding Tracker monitors incentives and grants that could be used to support projects related to source reduction of disposable packaging and foodware.

Upstream 10/17/24 Upstream 10/17/24

Looking upstream: The linear economy & its social impacts

Reducing resource consumption and improving production processes can develop more resilient, equitable systems that prioritize long-term sustainability for the economy, people, and the environment.

Upstream 10/16/24 Upstream 10/16/24

Reuse & climate: action for governments to take

The importance of embedding reuse into climate action plans—and how measuring consumption-based emissions gives a far more accurate depiction of a municipality’s climate impact.

Upstream 10/10/24 Upstream 10/10/24

Reuse, climate solutions & a just transition

A conversation summary from the summer meeting of the Reuse Solutions Network.

Upstream 10/3/24 Upstream 10/3/24

What is the best way to message reuse?

Messaging strategies and talking points tailored to the four audience types that local advocates commonly target to promote reuse in food service.

Upstream 9/18/24 Upstream 9/18/24

The Conscious Cafeteria Report

A national pilot study on reusable foodware for healthier, more sustainable schools.

Upstream 8/22/24 Upstream 8/22/24

Stories of charting a path to reuse

Three case studies from early adopters of Chart-Reuse, showing how customized data helped them leverage their cause and make the case for reuse.

Upstream 8/14/24 Upstream 8/14/24

Putting reuse into practice

Upstream’s vision for reaching the “tipping point” where reuse services become a widespread, cross-sectional, intraoperative industry and an everyday utility.

Erin Covey-Smith 8/7/24 Erin Covey-Smith 8/7/24

Recycling versus reuse: are they really so different?

We sat Recycling and Reuse down together to talk out their differences—and they learned quite a bit from each other.

Erin Covey-Smith 8/1/24 Erin Covey-Smith 8/1/24

Reuse is a climate solution

Rethinking the supply chain for packaging must be a climate goal to put us on track to achieve net-zero emissions.

Erin Covey-Smith 7/23/24 Erin Covey-Smith 7/23/24

Upstream Launches Bold Initiative to Eliminate Single-use Waste with Grant from the National Park Foundation

The plan will make the South Rim at Grand Canyon National Park the first to eliminate nearly all single-use foodware.

Upstream 7/23/24 Upstream 7/23/24

Upstream’s Strategic Vision for Change

How Upstream is working to take reuse to the next level.

Upstream 7/10/24 Upstream 7/10/24

A Myth Busting Cheat Sheet

Counter-arguments to the top four myths about why reuse is not a viable solution.

Ryann Russ 6/27/24 Ryann Russ 6/27/24

Transforming & Eliminating Waste

Upstream & PR3 announce major prize to advance reuse.

Upstream 6/27/24 Upstream 6/27/24

Debunking myths about consumer demand & more

Key findings from a new report on scaling reuse, plus more from Upstream’s Reuse Solutions Network.

Upstream 6/6/24 Upstream 6/6/24

Takeaways from Circularity 24

Key insights into the state of the circular economy and the future of reuse.

Upstream 5/23/24 Upstream 5/23/24

Announcing winners of The Reusies® 2024

The Most Innovative Reuse Company awards were presented at GreenBiz’s Circularity 24 on May 23, 2024.

Upstream 5/16/24 Upstream 5/16/24

What else makes an effective LCA for reuse?

How to effectively use LCAs as a tool to leverage and scale reuse systems.

Upstream 5/9/24 Upstream 5/9/24

What makes an effective LCA for reuse?

To make a strong case for reuse and to build optimal systems, we need to use a systems approach in our LCAs.

Upstream 4/25/24 Upstream 4/25/24

Big brands can—and must—be changemakers

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

Upstream 4/18/24 Upstream 4/18/24

Do consumers prefer reuse?

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