There’s a lot of single-use waste that comes into our homes. But there are concrete steps we can take to reduce it.

Emerging trends in foodservice have the potential to completely disrupt our current disposable food-service paradigm and replace it with something better.

Community coalitions like Reuse Seattle are leading the way in developing the New Reuse Economy – and Upstream’s Macy Zander is here to help.

The beverage sector is one of the ripest sectors for reuse. Leaving out closed systems like reuse for on-site dining, more beverage reuse/refill systems operate at scale than all other open systems.

Announcing the finalists for The Reusies® 2022! The second annual Reusies awards ceremony will be livestreamed on September 29, 2022 and presented in partnership with circular economy-focused investment firm and innovation center, Closed Loop Partners.

Upstream CEO Matt Prindiville just returned from GreenBiz’s Circularity Conference. It was a sold-out 3 day affair with more than a thousand sustainability professionals from virtually every consumer brand, plus representatives from the rest of their value chain. Here are three valuable takeaways from the conference.

Even though Extended Producer Responsibility has in theory been about creating a circular economy for packaging, in practice, the only goals that have been applied in legislation so far are recycling targets. The effect has been increased recycling where EPR systems are in place, but no actual reduction in the generation of packaging waste. We can change this.

Reuse services require collection from the consumer, reverse logistics, washing and sanitizing, refilling and/or restocking. Because of the challenges and costs associated for individual companies going it alone, it’s important for businesses to be able to operate on platforms that can serve many companies at the same time.

This week, Sego Jackson - one of Upstream’s founding board members - retired from the City of Seattle. As the saying goes, “People don’t remember what you said. They remember how you made them feel.” And I remember the way Sego made me feel when I first met him back in 2004.