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.
Regional Directory : South & Midwest | West | Eastern US & Canada
Southern & Midwestern US
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Reusable Mill Valley
Serving Mill Valley, CA. To get involved or for more information, please contact Linda Corrado at lindacorrado@gmail.com.
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Reuse Phoenix
Led by Upstream and the City of Phoenix. For more information or to get involved, contact Melissa Jung at melissa@upstreamsolutions.org.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Reusable Sonoma
Led by the County of Sonoma. For more information, contact Sloane Pagel at sloane.pagal@sonoma-county.org.
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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
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BYO-Baltimore Reduces
Led by the BYO-Baltimore Reduces group. To get involved or for more information, contact Steph Compton at steph0waste@gmail.com.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Learn about actions your coalition can take on the Roadmap to Reuse
Business Outreach Guide for engaging local foodservice businesses around reuse
The Reuse for Onsite Dining Library contains a host of resources to help advocate for reusable foodware anywhere food is consumed in the same location it is served.
The Reuse Changemaker Bootcamp is a series of trainings on reuse advocacy created by the Story of Stuff.
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.