Local Action Resources

EPISODE 184: Experts and advocates share their insights into reuse and refill in state and federal food codes, plus strategies to update your own state’s food code to be more reuse/refill friendly.

EPISODE 183: Lessons from the California school district that helped 300+ schools transition to reuse through a statewide grant program.

EPISODE 182: An exploration of behavior change science for reuse with Jen Carrigan and Katie Patrick.

photo credit: Cup Club

EPISODE 181: Upstream and partners are helping the Grand Canyon build the nation’s largest open-loop reuse system. Learn about the process and their progress so far.

photo credit: National Park Service / K. Thomas

EPISODE 180: 2025 will go down in history as the year the universal Reuse symbol was born — listen in to learn more and to participate.

EPISODE 177: Isabel Mack, creator of Party Kit Network, and Toni Mason with Bull City Boomerang Bags discuss community-focused reuse initiatives driven by passion instead of policy.

image: Party Kit Network

EPISODE 175: Switching K-12 schools to reusables is a win-win-win for improving children’s health, educating and empowering the community around sustainability issues, and providing an impressive ROI for school administrators.

EPISODE 174: Diving into the findings of a national pilot study of reusable foodware for healthier, more sustainable schools.

EPISODE 172: Organizers in states where it is challenging to pass policy are still doing good work to reduce plastic waste and encourage reuse. Plastic Free MKE shares the story of their success.

Episode 171: Preemption laws—or “bans on bans”—can make it hard for localities in more conservative states to pass plastic reduction and reuse policies. Learn insights & workarounds from on-the-ground advocates in FL, CO, and MT.

Episode 170: Happen Ventures leverages logistics and partnerships to repurpose products and divert landfill waste.

Episode 169: A win-win model from MD Department of Aging: reusing durable medical equipment to increase access while saving money, carbon, and landfill waste.

Episode 168: PLAN’s Atlas Fellows launch a Reuse To-Go Manual & ROI Calculation Course to help college students make lasting changes in campus dining.

Episode 166: Christiana Dujardin, lead analyst for the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s groundbreaking report, Unlocking A Reuse Revolution - Scaling Returnable Packaging, shares insights & takeaways on designing a returnable packaging system that can compete across the board with single-use.

Episode 165: A recording of the summer Reuse Solutions Network meeting, which dives deep on the interrelation between single-use plastic, climate change, environmental justice, and a just transition to reuse.

Episode 164: How passion, persistence, and good data can go a long way in creating change—with Yayoi Koizumi, founder of Zero Waste Ithaca and co-founder of BYO-US Reduces.

Episode 160: Inspiring Berkeley High School students Sophie Horvath and Joshua Swift-Rawal share their journey in advocating for reuse at their school and beyond.

Episode 158: Behind the scenes at the INC-4 meeting in Ottawa, plus what’s next for an international agreement to reduce plastic pollution.

photo: Benjamin Von Wong

Episode 157: Bryan Lewis, head of GreenBiz’s Emerging Leaders program, discusses empowering young sustainability professionals, a just transition to a circular economy, and what he is doing to ensure DEI doesn’t DIE.

Episode 156: How the arts, design, and action can help change culture and make throw-away go away, with Dianna Cohen and Annie Rothschild Farman of Plastic Pollution Coalition.

Episode 155: The town of Banff was among the first in Canada to pass a comprehensive single-use item reduction bylaw. Hear from Environmental Coordinator Carla Bitz about the grassroots efforts that spurred the journey to passing this policy, plus successes and challenges along the way.

Episode 154: Reusable LA co-leaders Emily Parker and Alison Waliszewski share some key insights about advocating for Reuse for Onsite Dining and other reuse policy within their community.

Episode 152: How compostable are bioplastics really? The answer: it depends. Learn more from Dr Lisa Erdle of the 5 Gyres Institute.

Episode 151: Perpetual is working to bring reuse to everyone by collaboratively designing reuse systems in mid-side cities across America.

Episode 150: More on navigating the challenges and opportunities in moving toward a new reuse economy built on principles of equity and justice for all.

Episode 149: A candid discussion on an equitable vision of a new reuse economy and aligning on how we talk about a Just Transition toward non-toxic reuse - a Reuse Solutions Network recast.

Episode 148: Executive Director of Plastic Free Restaurants John Charles Meyer returns to update us on progress made and lessons learned in funding foodservice establishments to switch to reuse.

Episode 147: Reuse Seattle collaborators McKenna Morrigan and Moji Igun share the inspiring story of the coalition’s growing success since we first chatted with them.

Episode 146: Dan Vukelich, The Reusies 2023 Activist of the Year, shares how 20+ years of working to reduce waste in hospitals is really gaining traction.

Episode 143: Judy Hilton, co-author of the recent groundbreaking report Making Reuse a Reality, dives deep on the paper’s findings and its implications for the Global Plastics Treaty.