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Real world impact at the Grand Canyon

Upstream is leading a multi-year, multi-stakeholder, first-in-the-nation project at the Grand Canyon National Park. The project will result in the largest reuse system for dine-in and take-out in the U.S. at the South Rim’s food and beverage locations. We are partnering with concessionaires Xanterra Travel Collection and Delaware North, plus Grand Canyon Conservancy and Leave No Trace.

Xanterra Travel Collection logo with a mountain graphic and slogan 'A World of Unforgettable Experiences'.
Logo of Delaware North featuring a stylized geometric design with blue and green shades and the words 'Delaware North' below.
Illustration of the Grand Canyon featuring layered rock formations, a river flowing through the canyon, and distant mountains, with the text 'Grand Canyon Conservancy' at the bottom.
Leave No Trace logo featuring a blue spiral design and the text "LEAVE NO TRACE" in bold navy letters.
Sunset over the Grand Canyon with layered rock formations and a partly cloudy sky.

Image: K. Thomas, NPS

10 years of reuse at the Grand Canyon means:

50M single-use units eliminated

black icon of a spoon, knife, and fork

190 tons of trash eliminated from landfills

black icon of a dumptruck

Ongoing Impact:

black silhouette icons of two hikers
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4.9M+ hikers experiencing reuse annually

84% reduction in job toxicity

Diagram illustrating a reusable food container system with six steps: customer returns container, concessionaire collects it, concessionaire brings dirty container to wash facility, wash facility cleans the container, concessionaire orders clean reusable container, customer receives food in reusable container, completing the loop.

Project Phases

Phase I: PREPARE > Engage stakeholders, design and build the system, RFPs and procurement

Phase 2: COMMUNICATE & IMPLEMENT > Execute education and communications plans, install and operationalize reuse ecosystem

Phase 3: ANALYSIS, REPORTING, AND SCALE-UP PLAN > Impact analysis and creation of roadmap to scale reuse at other National Parks; release documentary film

black icon of two people with a gear over their heads
black icon of a hiker next to a trash barrel marked with a reuse symbol
black and white icon of a report with bar and pie charts

Upstream’s Role: Project design; Reuse expertise; Project management; Change management; Data analytics; Stakeholder engagement; Facilitation

Follow our process

Articles

Featured
Building the New Within the Old: Indigenous Voices and Corporate Sustainability at the Grand Canyon
Building the New Within the Old: Indigenous Voices and Corporate Sustainability at the Grand Canyon

Lessons in applying Just Transition principles to Upstream’s reuse project at Grand Canyon National Park.

image: National Park Service

Upstream Announces RFI for Reusable Foodware for Grand Canyon National Park Project
Upstream Announces RFI for Reusable Foodware for Grand Canyon National Park Project

Request for Information (RFI) for reusable foodware for Grand Canyon National Park reuse project.

Image: NPS, M. Quinn

Upstream’s Reuse Project at the Grand Canyon
Upstream’s Reuse Project at the Grand Canyon

Updates and insights on Phase One of our project to implement a reuse system at Grand Canyon National Park’s South Rim.

Photo credit: National Park Service / M. Quinn

Reflections on our first Grand Canyon site visit
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.

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

Podcasts

Featured
A Grand Reuse Project
A Grand Reuse Project

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

Press

Featured
Grand Canyon National Park to Launch Parkwide Food Service Reuse System
Grand Canyon National Park to Launch Parkwide Food Service Reuse System

Waste 360 - June 26, 2025

“Upstream has the right team in place to put it all together, and I look forward to working with them over the next two-plus years. I am impressed with their experience, knowledge, and professionalism.”

- Susan Manganiello, Xanterra Travel Collection (project partner)