Community activists are the key changemakers in the reuse movement

When it comes to changing something as entrenched as the throw-away culture, the real changemakers are local community members and their elected officials – people who are passionate about saving the planet and ready to innovate new approaches. Unlike national politicians who rely on big corporate campaign contributions to stay in office, local legislators need their constituents’ support in order to get re-elected. They are less beholden to big industries, there are fewer high paid industry lobbyists banging on their doors, and many want to differentiate themselves by demonstrating leadership on environmental issues. 

Big Wins in Marin

The most recent reusable foodware policy victory in North America happened in Marin County, California. On April 19th – leading up to Earth Day – the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously (5 to 0) to enact a policy that prioritizes reducing the amount of single-use food and beverage packaging used in the local food service sector. 

This policy victory would not have been possible without great local legislative champions, as well as the organizers who engaged the community in calling on legislators to support the ordinance. That includes Reusable Marin, one of the coalitions Upstream helped to launch, and other community groups, like Plastic Free Marin.

#SkiptheStuff – plus

The policy is true to the 3Rs hierarchy for waste management – that it’s better to Reduce and Reuse than to Recycle, or dispose of waste. It will Reduce unnecessary packaging by requiring restaurants to only provide accessories (like utensils, napkins, and condiment packets) when the customer specifically requests them. We call this policy Skip the Stuff, and communities and even entire states across the U.S. are adopting it. 

The ordinance also requires that food businesses only use reusables to serve customers who dine on the premises. That means only REAL plates, cups, and utensils. That’s not too big a stretch for many food business operators, since most already use reusables – or use a combination of real and disposable stuff. The big change is for fast food restaurants. For them, this policy means disposability as an operational principle will eventually cease to exist. 

You may think getting rid of single-use is a big ask for, say, McDonalds. But all across Europe, McCafes are serving customers espresso and croissants on ceramic plates and cups with stainless steel utensils. That’s because many Europeans find the throw-away format unacceptable – and that’s exactly the mindset that policies like the one adopted in Marin County aim to cultivate.

Reflecting the true cost of disposables

The Marin ordinance also addresses disposable take-out cups, attempting to motivate consumers to bring a reusable cup or borrow one from the cafe by requiring they pay 25 cents for the disposable cup. 

This policy is modeled on plastic bag policies enacted over the last 15 years that ban plastic bags but also require retailers to charge customers for the single-use paper bag. The idea is to drive customers to choose the reusable option by making the disposable more expensive. 

With the climate change crisis, we need to rethink giving out paper and plastic for free. Trees capture carbon, help to cool things down, create healthy ecosystems, and preserve biodiversity. Cutting them down to make products used in only a matter of minutes simply doesn’t make sense. Consuming single-use plastics when we have so little time left to transition off fossil fuels to prevent worst-case climate change scenarios is even less logical.

How the magic happens

The Marin County ordinance was modeled on the first reusable foodware ordinance, which was enacted in Berkeley, CA in 2019. Upstream was one of the architects of that policy and joined in the organizing effort with many local activists – led by the Berkeley-based Ecology Center – to help get that policy enacted. 

There are some key strategies organizers used in Berkeley, which provide a blueprint for organizing that is being replicated and iterated by other reuse coalitions across the country. 

First, the organizers had good data to use in winning support for the policy. Local litter studies showed that food and beverage packaging comprised nearly 70% of trash on city streets that enters local waterways. In addition, a local program called ReThink Disposable provided dozens of case studies showing that switching to reuse for onsite dining saved local restaurants money. Organizers went out and conducted surveys with the business community and found that nearly 70% supported the disposable cup charge – probably because they get to keep the money.

Second, there was widespread community engagement. From the students in Ms. Omania’s 3rd grade class who spoke at press conferences and testified at the hearing, to the climate and plastic pollution activists, to faith-based leaders – the turnout was tremendous.

A National trend - and you can join! 

Policies like those enacted in Berkeley and Marin County are being passed all across the country through the organizing and actions of all kinds of people and brave local legislators. And they are starting to trickle up to state legislators, too. Today, due to the influence at the local level, two states have adopted Skip the Stuff laws, and 33 cities have enacted some version of Upstream’s model reusable foodware policy. Nearly 62 million people live in a jurisdiction where a reduce/reuse policy has been enacted – that’s 19% of the U.S. population!

We're getting calls and contacts from people all across the country who are interested in bringing reuse to their communities. And it isn't always policy actions that people are interested in. We are helping activists learn about the kinds of ways to bring reuse to their communities – from launching reuse businesses, to how to bring reuse to school dining, local events and sporting stadiums. And we're sharing best practices and strategies for reuse organizing. If you want to get involved and launch a local reuse coalition or initiative in your community, get in touch with us. We're here to help and there's all kinds of ways for you to get involved. 

I hope you enjoyed learning more about how community activists and organizers are the key changemakers in the reuse movement. A quickly forming grassroots movement is shaking up the throwaway culture and bringing about the new reuse economy. If you enjoyed this, don’t forget to like, comment and share. Thanks for your support!