Upstream is a US-based non-profit driving change toward a robust and enduring reuse economy in the US & Canada by normalizing reuse, growing and supporting the reuse industry, and ensuring a supportive policy environment. Our work lies at the nexus of plastic pollution, climate change, and a just transition.
Reuse is a Plastic Pollution & Litter Solution
Reusable packaging keeps plastic and other trash from leaking into the environment and our oceans.
The Problem
Today, approximately one trillion disposable food and beverage packaging items are used each year in the US, comprising 67% of litter found in the environment.
430 million metric tons of plastic is produced globally every year and 41% of it pollutes our planet. Each year, more than 10 million tons of plastic escapes the current system and leaks into the ocean. The biggest culprit is single-use items such as plastic cutlery, packaging and microplastics that break off of larger pieces of plastic.
In 2022, the global population used approximately 1.5 trillion single-use plastic bottles and cups, the second most common litter item found across seven aquatic environments globally in 2021; up to 168 billion of these containers will pollute aquatic systems.
In the US alone, it is estimated that the annual volume of plastic waste produced is over 42 million metric tons—only 8.7% of which is recycled.
The Solution
We must treat packaging as a service rather than as a product. A reuse system—including logistics, technology, and facilities for collection, washing, and recirculation—provides packaging for food, beverage, and consumer-facing products that circulate through this system over and over.
Every instance of reuse prevents plastic and other litter from being thrown away or carelessly trashed, and possibly ending up in our oceans. Single-use plastic leakage into the environment could be reduced by 80% by 2040 using systems already available such as reusable packaging.
If every food service business transitioned to reusables, we could reduce trash in our sidewalks and streets that ends up in waterways and landfills by as much as two-thirds. Additionally, costs of waste pick-up and disposal would plummet for businesses and taxpayers alike.
Just a 10% increase in reusable packaging by 2030 can eliminate over 1 trillion single-use plastic bottles and cups and could prevent up to 153 billion of these containers from entering the world’s oceans and waterways.
To put this in perspective, 1 trillion plastic bottles and cups stacked on top of each other would result in a single-use plastic tower that would reach to the moon and back over 300 times.
Upstream Policy Institute, Inc. (d.b.a. Upstream) is a private, 501(c)(3) non-profit public benefit corporation, with tax ID #43-2038678. Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.