Media & Events

Vlogs

Current events and information on the circular economy, brought to you live by Upstream’s thought leaders

  • 3 Take-aways from GreenBiz 23

    3 Take-aways from GreenBiz 23

    Upstream’s Priscilla Johnson just returned from GreenBiz 23. Here are three takeaways from this flagship conference.

  • Reuse Policy Wins 2022

    Reuse Policy Wins 2022

    The Upstream Vlog is back for 2023! And we’re happy to introduce Sydney Harris as our interim Strategic Policy Advisor, who walks us through the many reuse policy victories to celebrate from 2022 – from the local, state, federal levels to the international stage.

  • The New Reuse Economy: The future of foodservice is reusable

    The New Reuse Economy: The future of foodservice is reusable

    Today, much of institutional, fast food, and fast casual dining - and virtually all takeout and delivery - uses disposable food-serviceware. And all those takeout containers, bags, boxes, condiment packets, plastic utensils, cold and hot cups and lids, and napkins add up. Nearly ONE TRILLION disposable food service products are used each year in the United States.

  • Meet Upstream's New Reuse Communities Policy & Engagement Officer

    Meet Upstream's New Reuse Communities Policy & Engagement Officer

    But what is a Reuse Communities Policy & Engagement Officer, anyway? Meet one of our newest team members helping to grow and develop the many reuse coalitions Upstream partners with - Macy Zander!

  • The New Reuse Economy: how refill can transform the beverage industry

    The New Reuse Economy: how refill can transform the beverage industry

    Did you know? Prior to World War II, virtually all commercial beverages sold in the United States came in refillable bottles. But afterwards, extraction companies which had fueled the war effort furthered their partnerships with consumer goods, fast food and beverage companies, giving rise to our current throwaway model.

  • 3 Takeaways from Circularity 22

    3 Takeaways from Circularity 22

    In our latest vlog, Upstream CEO & Chief Solutioneer, Matt Prindiville, shares some key learnings from his recent trip to Atlanta and GreenBiz group’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 -- a potent mix that fostered some exciting conversations and opportunities regarding the future of reuse.

  • How EPR can create a circular economy for packaging

    How EPR can create a circular economy for packaging

    Even though Extended Producer Responsibility (or EPR) has, in theory, been about creating a circular economy for packaging - in practice, the only goals that have been applied in legislation are recycling targets. While landfill diversion rates have gone up from 42 to 59% so has the generation of waste.

  • Infrastructure to Scale the New Reuse Economy

    Infrastructure to Scale the New Reuse Economy

    In this week's vlog, Upstream CEO & Chief Solutioneer, Matt Prindiville, walks us through the infrastructure that will be needed to scale the new reuse economy, and how this infrastructure will revolutionize the way we consume.

  • Organizing for Reuse: Local changemakers in action

    Organizing for Reuse: Local changemakers in action

    When it comes to changing something as entrenched as the throw-away culture, the real changemakers are local community members and their elected officials - people who are passionate about saving the planet and ready to innovate new approaches.

  • Climate, plastics and reuse

    Climate, plastics and reuse

    According to the recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the window for limiting global warming to relatively safe levels is rapidly closing. Immediate and unprecedented action from every country will be necessary in order to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5℃ above pre-industrial levels.

  • What comes first: EPR or DRS?

    What comes first: EPR or DRS?

    With big brands now signaling support for extended producer responsibility (EPR), deposit-return systems (DRS), and - most recently - reuse/refill, new opportunities have opened up to get policies passed and the infrastructure built out to transform how we consume food, beverage, personal care and cleaning products.

  • Women who power the reuse movement

    Women who power the reuse movement

    In honor of Women's History Month, Indisposable Podcast host Brooking Gatewood presents a roundup of her favorite interviews with some of the many innovative, visionary, women-identified Solutioneers driving the Reuse Movement forward.

  • PepsiCo and Starbucks announce goals for reuse

    PepsiCo and Starbucks announce goals for reuse

    PepsiCo and Starbucks are the latest brands to announce goals for reuse. But what does this really mean for the reuse movement? Learn more: https://upstreamsolutions.org/blog/pepsico-and-starbucks-reuse In the last month, some BIG brands who have been major players in the throw-away economy made historic announcements about their goals to move to reuse.
  • Eliminating single-use cups at events

    Eliminating single-use cups at events

    With fans returning to sporting arenas and concert-goers celebrating the return of music festivals, sustainability issues at events and venues are coming back into focus - specifically, the ever-present disposable plastic cup.

  • A historic treaty to beat plastic pollution

    A historic treaty to beat plastic pollution

    On Wednesday, March 2, 2022, representatives from 175 nations agreed to draft a global treaty that would start to tackle the exponentially growing amount of plastic pollution that we're facing - essentially a "Paris Agreement for plastics".

  • Bringing Reuse to On-Site Dining

    Bringing Reuse to On-Site Dining

    How often do you go for a walk or a drive in your local community and encounter litter strewn about in the environment? For almost anyone, the answer to this question would be practically every day. It's clear by now that disposables don't make any sense - they literally don't make dollars, or cents!

  • How Extended Producer Responsibility Can Help Build a Waste-Free Future

    How Extended Producer Responsibility Can Help Build a Waste-Free Future

    Welcome to Upstream's vlog! You might have heard of extended producer responsibility (EPR). But what exactly is it? EPR is a policy tool that makes consumer brands responsible for the environmental impacts of their products and packaging.

  • Exploring the History of Environmental Justice to Support Anti-Racism

    Exploring the History of Environmental Justice to Support Anti-Racism

    Welcome to Upstream's vlog! This Black History Month, Upstream Policy Analyst and Coordinator Marcel Howard discusses the historical scars of environmental racism and the rise of the environmental justice movement. Learn more: https://upstreamsolutions.org/blog/black-history-month-environmental-justice The Environmental Justice (EJ) movement addresses a statistical fact: people who live, work and play in America's most polluted environments are commonly people of color and the poor.
  • How Bottle Bills Reduce Waste and Support the Circular Economy

    How Bottle Bills Reduce Waste and Support the Circular Economy

    Welcome to Upstream's vlog! Bottle bills - or, as they're often called, deposit-refund systems - are behavior-rewarding incentive initiatives that are proven, effective approaches for recovering containers for reusing, refilling, or recycling

  • How Upstream and the Reuse Movement Began

    How Upstream and the Reuse Movement Began

    Our first vlog episode looks back at how Upstream and the reuse movement began as Upstream's Chief Solutioneer and CEO Matt Prindiville walks through the evolution of waste management and extended producer responsibility.