Act Locally

Reuse Community Groups & Coalitions

These coalitions and groups are bringing reuse to their communities in all kinds of ways, from developing reuse policies and infrastructure to escalating reuse in all kinds of settings – such as restaurants and dining facilities, schools, venues, and events.

You can find existing groups & coalitions plus contact information below — please reach out directly if you are interested in getting involved. If you don’t see a group in your area, consider launching your own. If you’d like to add a group to this directory, please contact us.

We support and acknowledge the importance of local leadership. All of the coalitions and groups below, with the exception of where Upstream staff are based, are run independently of Upstream.  

Southern & Midwestern US

  • Austin waterfront paddle boarding

    Austin Reuse Coalition

    Led by Into the Sea, Plastic Reduction Project, 5Gyres, Retrocycle, and Upstream. The coalition serves Austin, TX. For more information or to get involved, contact Macy Zander at macy@upstreamsolutions.org.

  • Columbus Ohio

    Central Ohio Reuse Coalition

    Led by Plastic Reduction Project, Worthington Partnership Green Team, and local volunteers. For more information or to get involved, contact Douglas Calem at corc@plasticreductionproject.org.

  • St Louis arch

    CircularSTL

    Led by 10 Billion Strong, Race to Zero Waste, earthday365 and members of the St. Louis sustainability community. The coalition serves Greater St. Louis, MO. For more information on how to get involved, contact circularstl@gmail.com or visit circularstl.org.

  • Detroit

    Detroit ReUse!

    Detroit ReUse! is a subcommittee of the City of Detroit Green Task Force, Waste Reduction Committee. Members include: Breathe Free Detroit, Sustainable Community Farms, We ReUse, Zero Waste Detroit, and Zero Waste USA. For more information contact connie@wewillreuse.com.

  • Minnesota lake at sunset

    Minnesota Reusables Coalition

    Led by Reuse Minnesota and serving the entire state. To get involved or for more information, visit reusemn.org/MRC or contact Emily Barker at emilybarker@reusemn.org.

  • green park in Milwaukee

    Plastic Free Milwaukee

    Led by Milwaukee Riverkeeper & the City of Milwaukee Environmental Collaboration Office. For more information or to get involved, contact info@plasticfreemke.org.

Western US

  • woman and child hiking down a path in Fort Collins, Colorado

    Fort Collins Trash Mob

    Fort Collins Trash Mob (FoCo Trash Mob) is a group of volunteers serving Fort Collins, CO. For more information or to get involved, visit focotrashmob.org or contact focotrashmob@gmail.com.

  • Long Beach CA cove

    LB Reuses (Long Beach, CA)

    A collaboration of the Environmental Services Bureau, the BYO shop, Algalita and East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice. For more information or to get involved, contact Ashley Craig at ashleycraig913@gmail.com.

  • Portland, OR iconic neon sign over old town

    Portland Reuse Coalition

    The Portland Reuse Coalition is led by Waste-Free Advocates, OKAPI Reusables, and Revino. The coalition serves Portland, OR. For more information, or to get involved, contact Julia Bonnheim at director@wastefreeadvocates.org.

  • beach and palm trees in Maui

    Project Reuse - Maui

    Nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Maui-based restaurants transition to safe and responsibly-made reusable foodware. For more information or to get involved, visit ProjectReuse.org or contact Suparna Vashisht at suparnavashisht@yahoo.com.

  • Alameda conservation park

    Reusable Alameda

    Led by Race to Zero Waste and serving Alameda County, CA. For more information or to get involved, contact Teresa Bradley at reusablealameda@gmail.com.

  • Colorado scenery

    Reuse Colorado

    Led by Eco-Cycle and connecting local governments, nonprofits, businesses, and passionate individuals across the great state of Colorado. For more information, contact Ryan Call at ryan@ecocycle.org.

  • Los Angeles sidewalk

    ReusableLA

    Led by Heal the Bay and 5Gyres. The coalition serves the greater Los Angeles metro area. To get involved or for more information, please visit www.reusablela.org or contact Alison Waliszewski at alison@5gyres.org.

  • California coastline Mill Valley

    Reusable Mill Valley

    Serving Mill Valley, CA. To get involved or for more information, please contact Linda Corrado at lindacorrado@gmail.com.

  • Phoenix, Arizona

    Reuse Phoenix

    Led by Upstream and the City of Phoenix. For more information or to get involved, contact Melissa Jung at melissa@upstreamsolutions.org.

  • Reno Nevada

    Reusable Reno

    Lead by community volunteers. Serving greater Reno, NV. To get involved or for more information, please visit reusablereno.org or contact the Reusable Reno Team at ReusableRenoNV@gmail.com.

  • Golden Gate Bridge

    ReusableSF

    Led by Cyclei and Story of Stuff, and serving the greater Bay Area. To get involved or for more information, please visit reusablesf.org or contact Miriam Gordon at miriam@storyofstuff.org or Cher at cher@cyclei.eco.

  • San Mateo CA at night

    Reusable San Mateo

    Led by Plastic Free Future, Upstream, and Plastic Free Fridays and serving San Mateo County, CA. To get involved or for more information, please visit reusablesanmateocounty.org or contact Sally Liu at sally.liu@gmail.com.

  • San Jose city lit up at night

    Reusable Santa Clara County

    Led by the Story of Stuff and serving Santa Clara County, CA. For more information or to get involved, contact John Henry Williams at johnhenry@storyofstuff.org.

  • Seattle skyline

    Reuse Seattle

    A public private partnership led by the City of Seattle and PR3 and serving Seattle, WA. To get involved or for more information, visit reuseseattle.org or contact Amy Larkin with PR3 at alarkin@naturemeansbusiness.com.

  • grape vineyard Sonoma California

    Reusable Sonoma

    Led by the County of Sonoma. For more information, contact Sloane Pagel at sloane.pagal@sonoma-county.org.

  • Truckee California outdoor market

    Reusable Truckee

    Led by the Town of Truckee. For more information or to get involved, contact Melanie Conti at mconti@townoftruckee.com.

Eastern US & Canada

  • Baltimore Maryland skyline

    BYO-Baltimore Reduces

    Led by the BYO-Baltimore Reduces group. To get involved or for more information, contact Steph Compton at steph0waste@gmail.com.

  • Bug Light Portland Maine

    Reuse Maine

    Reuse Maine is a volunteer coalition of local businesses, environmental non-profits, and community leaders who are working together to build a robust, integrated, and convenient reuse ecosystem in Maine. Contact hello@reusemaine.com or visit reusemaine.com for more information.

  • brick buildings Boston Massachusetts

    Reusable New England

    Led by Just Zero and the Conservation Law Foundation. The coalition is actively working on campaigns throughout New England. To get involved or for more information, visit reusablenewengland.com or contact Lauren Fernandez at lfernandez@just-zero.org.

  • Statue of Liberty

    ReusableNYC

    Led by Surfrider and serving the five boroughs of New York City. To get involved or for more information, please visit www.reusablenyc.org or contact Matt Gove at mgove@surfider.org.

  • Toronto skyline

    Reusable Toronto

    Led by the Toronto Environmental Alliance and serving Toronto, Ontario. For more information, visit reusabletoronto.ca or contact Emily Alfred at emily@torontoenvironment.org.

  • Cornell college campus green

    Zero Waste Ithaca

    Led by local volunteers and serving Ithaca, NY. For more information, visit zerowasteithaca.org or contact Yayoi Koizumi at zerowasteithaca@gmail.com.

  • Miami Florida

    Zero Waste Miami

    Led by Debris Free Oceans and serving Miami, FL. For more information, visit debrisfreeoceans.org/zero-waste-miami or contact Maddie Kaufman at maddie@debrisfreeoceans.org.

Resources

Just getting started? Here are a few resources to help get your coalition off the ground.

Start a Reuse Coalition

Individuals, non-profits, government staff, reuse businesses, and anyone who is excited about reuse are welcome to start and run a coalition. We will provide you with resources and insight to help you on your way.