Reuse Cities are the Key to an Indisposable Future
Community coalitions like Reuse Seattle are leading the way in developing the New Reuse Economy – and Upstream’s Macy Zander is here to help
Meet Upstream’s New Reuse Communities Policy & Engagement Officer
I’m Macy Zander, based in San Antonio, Texas and I am the Reuse Communities Policy and Engagement Officer at Upstream.
I’m a bit of a surprise environmentalist given my background. Raised in a conservative community in the Houston suburbs, I wouldn’t say environmentalism was exactly trendy or mainstream growing up. However, from an early age I was very concerned about wild places, particularly oceans and forests, and was willing to be teased by my peers as the weird tree hugger.
My passion for reuse in particular was spurred by two early experiences. The first exposure was through my mother, who was absolutely adamant that despite all my begging, we would not be drinking all the wasteful CapriSun® and Hi-C® juice boxes or eating the super packaged Lunchables® that were ubiquitous in elementary school cafeterias in the 90s. Instead, I went with a reusable thermos and lunchbox that I used until it fell apart.
The second, less obvious experience revolves around memories of my younger brother's late night asthma attacks that would sometimes land him in the emergency room (which coincidentally vanished once we left Houston and the petrochemical mecca that defines so much of the area).
I didn’t make the link straight away, but the reuse ethic my mother promoted was the antithesis to the petrochemical industrial complex that lurked in the background for too many people living along the Gulf Coast. Working on reuse is a natural bridge between so many of my passions, from protecting our seas and waterways, to tackling overconsumption and litter, and source reduction of the materials that are fueling our climate crisis and impacting front line communities.
What’s a Reuse Communities Policy & Engagement Officer, Anyway?
In my role as Upstream’s new Reuse Communities Policy and Engagement Officer, I’ll be providing support to local groups who are working to build a culture of reuse and enact policies in their own communities. I’ll also be focusing on expanding local reuse coalitions across North America. I’m looking forward to working with and learning from established groups like ReusableLA and Reuse Seattle, while also seeding new initiatives in cities that haven’t seen a lot of organizing or advocacy around reuse.
How I got here
I started my career as a field organizer working on energy and water issues, and something that I’m super passionate about is relationship building, recruitment of new volunteers, and leadership development. I’ve witnessed firsthand the importance of an inspired and dedicated group of volunteers that is able to strategically push for a policy objective or goal. I’m eager to be a resource to folks on the ground who want to expand their outreach efforts – and to support them in discovering ways to increase their visibility, while engaging new people in their initiatives.
A fun fact about me is I simply love tabling events and really enjoy talking to strangers about environmental campaigns. I think it’s such a great tactic for engaging people from a broad range of backgrounds on sustainability. The very best is when you talk with someone who you totally don’t think is going to be on your team, but with a bit of angle tweaking, you can find common ground.
