Learn about Upstream’s roots and the journey of the zero waste movement. From the history of waste management to the innovation of extended producer responsibility policies, see how far we’ve come today.

As we welcome 2022, Upstream is also welcoming four new members of our Board.

Celebrating our accomplishments in 2021 – and what’s in store for 2022.

During Covid, the food industry had to shift to stay alive, and that meant running all operations in a take-out and delivery economy. It was a tragic time for the food service operators. But I also saw a huge problem growing from all the waste from the billions of take-out single-use items that flooded our homes and communities. And I wanted to turn it into an opportunity.

Upstream is excited to kick off a new series highlighting reuse success stories across the food service industry. First in line is Just Salad’s BringBack Bowl pilot program. We held a Q&A with Sandra Noonan, Chief Sustainability Officer at Just Salad, to learn more about the thought behind the program.

Reuse Wins, a new report from Upstream, shows how a new reuse economy is emerging to replace the use of single-use products in food service. The key findings in the report draw from life-cycle studies that compare the environmental impacts of disposables versus reusables, and project the potential cost savings to business and local government from transitioning to a new reuse economy.

Our recycling system is broken. Now, it’s time for consumers and businesses to adopt recycling’s stronger sister: reusing.

There’s a new reuse economy emerging for food service that has the potential to completely disrupt our current disposable food-service paradigm and replace it with something better.

We all know the feeling of opening that brown paper bag, excited that we didn’t have to cook, only to find a vast number of disposable utensils, straws, napkins, and condiment packets. But is this waste really necessary or is there a better way?