Zero Waste Miami Bridging the Gap Between Reuse Sectors
A Local Reuse Initiative Highlight
Over the last few years—with increased awareness of the issues with single-use plastic, litter, the fraught recycling industry, and the financial and environmental costs of procurement and waste management—reuse concepts have been making notable gains.
Since Upstream’s Reuse Solutions Network began in 2019, it has grown in membership from a couple dozen to 1300+ advocates, government representatives, NGOs, and reuse entrepreneurs, with new sign ups every week. We have also identified over 35 local reuse groups and coalitions working across the US & Canada. As of now, we’ve tracked 114 total reuse laws in the US & Canada, covering 23% of the total population. Many of these reuse policies—not to mention non-policy work—can be attributed to the work of local coalitions representing dozens of grassroots organizations, who have the insight and relationships needed to make change on-the-ground.
In light of all this activity, this summer we are spotlighting some local reuse initiatives in order to share insights and learnings other community groups can leverage for their own success. Featured here: Zero Waste Miami working to bridge the gap between all local reuse sectors.
Who is Zero Waste Miami?
Zero Waste Miami is led by Debris Free Oceans, a non-profit founded in 2014, which has amassed a following of over 10,000 volunteers who collectively have prevented over 2 million pieces of single-use plastic from entering the Miami-Dade County wastestream. Facing a waste crisis illustrated by 11 pounds of trash discarded per person per day, plus a very low recycling rate in the city, Zero Waste Miami formed from non-profits, businesses, governments, schools and additional community groups wanting to build a circular economy in Miami. They found a good deal of momentum in the buildout of reuse services in the city, but also that these services were encountering hiccups that could be better resolved if everyone came together to work through them.
Zero Waste Miami’s Work & Priorities
Zero Waste Miami is a young coalition that spent its first year laying some solid groundwork. Before officially forming, they held three info sessions and issued a survey to seek community feedback and to feel out if a reuse-focused group garnered interest. The response was a resounding yes, so with some startup funds from a private foundation, they launched in early 2024, starting with a WhatsApp chat, a mailing list, and a monthly meeting series including guest speakers in the zero waste space. They also used the outcomes of the survey to apply for—and secure funding from—the NOAA Marine Debris Community Action Coalition Challenge.
The NOAA funding allowed Zero Waste Miami to create a series of “framework building events.” They gathered to workshop the Zero Waste Miami framework and define who they are, what they do, and how they do it. The events were intentionally hybrid (in person and online) with differently timed sessions to increase accessibility. They also offered funding for daycare, reimbursements for travel, translation services, and a participation stipend. At the conclusion of those events, they went to work synthesizing the outcomes into a Zero Waste Miami Handbook.
The funding also helped Zero Waste Miami build a workshop series to gather the community and come up with a waste prevention strategy, which will ultimately feed into Miami Dade County’s zero waste master plan. The first workshop included presentations by the City of Paris and Perpetual, an audit of current waste generation and diversion initiatives, and identification of successes, challenges, and gaps. The second workshop explored methods to scale current waste diversion initiatives as well as new approaches to diversion. They have two more workshops planned, after which they will produce and circulate a draft and then final Waste Prevention Strategy.
What’s next for Zero Waste Miami
Once Zero Waste Miami is able to procure more funding and implement some of their projects—building the social, cultural, and infrastructure capacity for reuse and zero waste in the city—the coalition will consider transitioning to a policy phase. In the meantime, they maintain a resource hub that includes a directory of zero waste service providers, people working on zero waste in Miami, events, funding opportunities, and policy opportunities.
