A Step-by-Step Guide to Launching a Reuse Coalition
Reuse coalitions are being launched across North America by all kinds of people – from government staff, to community activists and concerned citizens, to reuse business entrepreneurs. There is no one set playbook for starting and operating any local organizing effort and no one right way to engage people in fostering an “indisposable community.” After launching a few reuse coalitions ourselves (and supporting others to do the same), we offer the following best practices to help you think about what might work best in your community.
Step 1: Recruit Your Members
Step 2: Identify Skills & Talents
Step 3: Host A Launch Event
Step 4: Establish Your Vision & Mission
Step 5: Identify Challenges & Opportunities
Step 6: Establish Your Objectives
Step 7: Create A Strategic Plan
Step 1. Recruit your members.
Every solution you choose should be informed by the diverse stakeholders and interested parties who might be impacted in your community. Before you launch a coalition or community initiative, think about who to engage.
Connect with people working on climate change, environmental justice, circular economy, plastic pollution, watershed protection, beach and litter cleanups, entrepreneurs in food service and repair and reuse, and spokespeople for local economic development.
Identify the climate, recycling, and sustainability leaders among student and youth groups, seniors groups, and faith-based organizations.
Step 2. Identify the skills and special talents members bring to the group and/or recruit for specific skills.
There is a place for everyone in a community-based coalition. Each person brings a unique background, skills, and insight. You will need to find people who can support the coalition in the following ways:
Communications
Website development
Social media
Design of materials and content
News media
Policy advocacy
Policy experts - people with background in lobbying and working with elected officials and their staff
People who are well connected in the local government, or staff in local government
Business engagement
People working in – or who have worked in – the business sector(s) that will be impacted by the policies you want to pass
Entrepreneurs and innovators in the business space
Sustainability experts who work for the local waste hauler or disposal facility operators
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Website development
Social media
Design of materials and content
News media
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Policy experts - people with background in lobbying and working with elected officials and their staff
People who are well connected in the local government, or staff in local government
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People working in – or who have worked in – the business sector(s) that will be impacted by the policies you want to pass
Entrepreneurs and innovators in the business space
Sustainability experts who work for the local waste hauler or disposal facility operators
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People don’t have to be professional community organizers to make an impact
Outgoing individuals who can represent your work, network with others, and authentically listen to others
Step 3. Host a launch event.
Make it fun! People are more apt to participate if they enjoy themselves. At the event, share a vision for what the future will look like when you bring reusable systems and services to your community. Inspire people by inviting reuse business leaders to share their innovations and reuse experts from other community coalitions to share their success stories. You can also bring people together through acts of community service, such as litter cleanups and educational events.
Step 4. Establish your vision and mission.
Generally, reuse coalitions have similar visions and missions. Most of them are focused on transitioning throw-away systems to a reuse economy in their community. Here are a few examples:
Reusable SF - Our Mission: Through community engagement and legislative advocacy, Reusable SF works to reduce single-use foodware, creating a reuse economy that safeguards the health and environment of all San Franciscans.
Reusable LA - Our Mission: Reusable LA is a coalition of organizations working to reduce plastic pollution in Los Angeles to safeguard our public health, communities, and environment. We complete this mission through legislative advocacy, outreach, and community engagement. Our Vision: A thriving culture of reuse and refill in Los Angeles to reduce waste from single-use plastic products and packaging as a model for communities to replicate.
ReusableNYC - Our Mission: Our coalition of nonprofits and community organizations is united to eliminate the needless waste and pollution created by single-use foodware (utensils, cups, clamshells, straws, etc.). To do so, we support policies in NYC that: Require restaurants to serve dine-in meals in reusable foodware; Require restaurants to offer utensils/accessories upon request only for take-out and delivery; Encourage customers to bring their own reusable cups and food containers; Restrict the sale of single-use water bottles; and Ban toxic substances in foodware.
Reusable San Mateo County - Our Mission: To champion the move away from disposable, single-use foodware (clamshells, cups, utensils, etc.) to reusable foodware through policy and on-the-ground solutions.
Reusable Reno- Our Mission: Raise awareness about the plastic pollution problem and facilitate connections between people and organizations to embrace a shift to REUSE. Align with a network of organizations working to reduce single-use plastic pollution to safeguard our public health, communities and environment. We achieve this mission through legislative advocacy, outreach and community engagement. Our Vision: A thriving culture of reuse and refill in Reno to reduce waste from single-use plastic products and packaging as a model for other communities to replicate. Learn, share, and engage by joining our community!
Step 5. Identify local challenges and opportunities.
Your coalition needs to be well-informed in order to develop policies that make sense in your community. Spend some time researching and meeting with local experts to learn about:
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For example, is there a plastic bag ban? A polystyrene foodware ordinance? Is there a bottle bill or deposit return system in your state? What kinds of foodware can and can’t be used? What are the state or local laws that tell businesses how to manage specific waste streams?
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Most of them pledge to do a whole lot of things with waste once it’s created. Does your city or state plan include any goals around reducing the quantity of waste being generated at the source - i.e. preventing waste rather than managing it? For example, C40 cities have adopted the goal of a 15% reduction in waste generation by 2030 compared to 2015.
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If so, what are the stated climate goals and does it address reuse as one of the solutions needed to reach these goals?
Here is some more info on climate action plans.
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How much and what kind of waste is going to landfill, waste-to-energy / incineration options, and compost? What materials are allowed to go to these end of life management options?
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What kinds of products contribute most heavily to litter? What about litter in your state or local beach or shoreline cleanup program?
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Working with schools is a great way to connect earth sciences and the topic of plastic pollution to advocacy and ways that students, PTA, etc can take action.
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You can work with the local association to amplify their businesses that employ reuse systems. Or you could share cost-saving studies with those that have yet to transition.
Step 6. Establish your objectives.
Establishing objectives means determining how you will accomplish your goals. There are many ways to accomplish your goals. You can employ a variety of objectives or prioritize one or two. Consider these options.
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Conduct outreach to include youth and school groups, local businesses, faith-based organizations, policy makers, and activists and changemakers (plastic pollution activists, climate activists, watershed groups, litter groups, and neighborhood groups).
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You can expand the reuse options in your community by encouraging grocery stores to provide bulk bin food services; supporting refill stores; finding ways to make reusable cup and container services available; promoting reuse in onsite dining at restaurants; bringing reuse options to local events; getting dry cleaners to use reusable/returnable dry cleaning bags; making refill stations for water bottles available in public venues; promoting delivery of beverages in returnable/reusable containers; sponsoring repair and fix-it clinics; promoting deconstruction services for construction and renovation; and so much more. You can be an accelerator by getting local government, corporate entities, and people involved in supporting these services through funding, marketing, and community engagement.
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Children learn by example and often encourage their parents and policy makers to be better stewards of the planet. Several local coalitions have gotten involved in facilitating the transition of school dining programs back to using real plates, cups, and utensils. They’ve found many co-benefits from this work. When food is served on real plates or trays rather than in packaging, the food changes from unhealthy processed foods to more nutritious and tastier options. Some schools report that children eat more when the food is fresher and more appealing.
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There are all kinds of entrepreneurs bringing reuse to communities. You can help bring them to your community – or if they are already there, to accelerate their growth. Find the refill shops, repair centers, reusable cup and container programs for take-out and delivery, beverage delivery in refillables, and other zero waste and reuse businesses in your community or others – and help build their customer base. You can also work to get your local government to fund these systems and entrepreneurs – or apply for a grant to start a reuse system yourself.
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Enact policies that bring reuse to food service, right to repair, bottled beverages, consumer product delivery, e-commerce and more.
Step 7. Create a Strategic Plan.
Outline the specific strategies you will employ to accomplish your goals.
For each strategy, determine specific tasks and identify who can take a leadership role in getting it done. Often there aren’t enough people to accomplish each task. Here you will need to problem solve the gaps. Figure out how to get it done by engaging others, or strategize to accomplish what you can within the limits of your resources.
Step 8. Develop an operating structure and systems
Establish an operating structure – maybe a steering committee, plus some subcommittees to focus on different areas of work (business engagement, community engagement and communications, policy engagement).
Develop agreed-upon bylaws or operating procedures.
Determine how often you will meet.
Ensure each meeting is well organized with notes and agendas – and follows the strategic plan.
Determine how files and resources will be shared and communications conducted.
