Act Locally

Community Groups & Coalitions

Upstream – along with our nonprofit allies in the reuse movement – supports community groups and coalitions to develop a culture of reuse in their own communities.

These coalitions are bringing reuse to their localities in all kinds of ways, from developing reuse policies and infrastructure to escalating reuse in all kinds of settings – schools, events, airports, academic campuses, sports stadiums, repair and fix-it clinics, and more.

You can get involved in bringing reuse to your community. We know it’s hard to get started, but we are here to help you with the tools and resources you need.

Individuals or organizations are welcome to start their own coalition or join an existing one. You can find existing coalitions and contact information below.

 Learn about actions your coalition can take on the Roadmap to Reuse

Southern & Midwestern US

  • Austin waterfront paddle boarding

    Austin Reuse Coalition

    Led by Into the Sea, Plastic Reduction Project, 5Gyres, and Upstream. The coalition serves Austin, TX. For more information or to get involved, contact Dawn Rodriguez at Intotheseaorg@gmail.com.

  • Columbus Ohio

    Central Ohio Reuse Coalition

    Led by Plastic Reduction Project, Worthington Partnership Green Team, and local volunteers. For more information or to get involved, contact Douglas Calem at douglas.calem@gmail.com.

  • St Louis arch

    CircularSTL

    Led by 10 Billion Strong, Race to Zero Waste, earthday365 and members of the St. Louis sustainability community. The coalition serves Greater St. Louis, MO. For more information on how to get involved, contact circularstl@gmail.com or visit circularstl.org.

  • Detroit

    Detroit ReUse!

    Detroit ReUse! is a subcommittee of the City of Detroit Green Task Force, Waste Reduction Committee. Members include: Breathe Free Detroit, Sustainable Community Farms, We ReUse, Zero Waste Detroit, and Zero Waste USA. For more information contact connie@wewillreuse.com.

  • Minnesota lake at sunset

    Minnesota Reusables Coalition

    Led by Reuse Minnesota and serving the entire state. To get involved or for more information, visit reusemn.org/MRC or contact Emily Barker at emilybarker@reusemn.org.

  • green park in Milwaukee

    Plastic Free Milwaukee

    Led by Milwaukee Riverkeeper & the City of Milwaukee Environmental Collaboration Office. For more information or to get involved, contact info@plasticfreemke.org.

Western US

  • Long Beach CA cove

    LB Reuses (Long Beach, CA)

    A collaboration of the Environmental Services Bureau, the BYO shop, Algalita and East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice. For more information or to get involved, contact Ashley Craig at ashleycraig913@gmail.com.

  • Alameda conservation park

    Reusable Alameda

    Led by Race to Zero Waste and serving Alameda County, CA. For more information or to get involved, contact Teresa Bradley at reusablealameda@gmail.com.

  • Burbank CA

    Reusable Burbank

    Serving Burbank, CA. For more information or to get involved, contact Tamala Takahashi at tamala.takahashi@gmail.com.

  • Colorado scenery

    Reuse Colorado

    Led by Eco-Cycle and connecting local governments, nonprofits, businesses, and passionate individuals across the great state of Colorado. For more information, contact Ryan Call at ryan@ecocycle.org.

  • Honolulu HI

    Reusable Hawaii

    Led by Zero Waste Big Island and Zero Waste Oahu. To get involved or for more information, contact Jennifer Navarra at zerowastebigisland@gmail.com.

  • Los Angeles sidewalk

    ReusableLA

    Led by Heal the Bay and 5Gyres. The coalition serves the greater Los Angeles metro area. To get involved or for more information, please visit www.reusablela.org or contact Alison Walischewski at alison@5gyres.org.

  • California coastline Mill Valley

    Reusable Mill Valley

    Serving Mill Valley, CA. To get involved or for more information, please contact Linda Corrado at lindacorrado@gmail.com.

  • Reno Nevada

    Reusable Reno

    Lead by community volunteers. Serving greater Reno, NV. To get involved or for more information, please visit reusablereno.org or contact the Reusable Reno Team at ReusableRenoNV@gmail.com.

  • Golden Gate Bridge

    ReusableSF

    Led by Plastic Free Fridays and serving the greater Bay Area. To get involved or for more information, please visit reusablesf.org or contact Eva Holman at evaariana@gmail.com.

  • San Mateo CA at night

    Reusable San Mateo

    Led by Plastic Free Future, Upstream, and Plastic Free Fridays and serving San Mateo County, CA. To get involved or for more information, please visit reusablesanmateocounty.org or contact Sally Liu at sally.liu@gmail.com.

  • Seattle skyline

    Reuse Seattle

    A public private partnership led by the City of Seattle and PR3 and serving Seattle, WA. To get involved or for more information, visit reuseseattle.org or contact Amy Larkin with PR3 at alarkin@naturemeansbusiness.com.

  • grape vineyard Sonoma California

    Reusable Sonoma

    Led by the County of Sonoma. For more information, contact Sloane Pagel at sloane.pagal@sonoma-county.org.

  • Truckee California outdoor market

    Reusable Truckee

    Led by the Town of Truckee. For more information or to get involved, contact Melanie Conti at mconti@townoftruckee.com.

Eastern US & Canada

  • Baltimore Maryland skyline

    Clean Air Baltimore Coalition

    Led by Energy Justice Network and serving Baltimore. To get involved or for more information, contact Steph Compton at steph@energyjustice.net.

  • Bug Light Portland Maine

    Reuse Maine

    Reuse Maine is a volunteer coalition of local businesses, environmental non-profits, and community leaders who are working together to build a robust, integrated, and convenient reuse ecosystem in Maine. Contact hello@reusemaine.com or visit reusemaine.com for more information.

  • brick buildings Boston Massachusetts

    Reusable New England

    Led by Just Zero and the Conservation Law Foundation. The coalition is actively working on campaigns throughout New England. To get involved or for more information, visit reusablenewengland.com or contact Lauren Fernandez at lfernandez@just-zero.org.

  • Statue of Liberty

    ReusableNYC

    Led by Surfrider and serving the five boroughs of New York City. To get involved or for more information, please visit www.reusablenyc.org or contact Matt Gove at mgove@surfider.org.

  • Toronto skyline

    Reusable Toronto

    Led by the Toronto Environmental Alliance and serving Toronto, Ontario. For more information, visit reusabletoronto.ca or contact Emily Alfred at emily@torontoenvironment.org.

  • Cornell college campus green

    Zero Waste Ithaca

    Led by local volunteers and serving Ithaca, NY. For more information, visit zerowasteithaca.org or contact Yayoi Koizumi at zerowasteithaca@gmail.com.

  • Miami Florida

    Zero Waste Miami

    Led by Debris Free Oceans and serving Miami, FL. For more information, visit debrisfreeoceans.org/zero-waste-miami or contact Maddie Kaufman at maddie@debrisfreeoceans.org.

Start a Reuse Coalition

We know it can be hard to get started. That’s where Upstream comes in. Our team is here to help. We can provide you with the tools and resources you need to get started. And we’ll support you all the way from getting off the ground, to passing policy, to creating infrastructure and getting your community engaged. Send us an email using the form, and let’s do this together.