The Indisposable Podcast®

How do just transition principles apply to policymaking? Brian Loma of GreenLatinos Colorado and Upstream’s Sydney Harris get real about the policymaking process in a just transition to a reuse economy. They discuss everything from community stakeholder involvement; to capacity, budget, and messaging challenges; to modeling the values of reuse, and more. Stay tuned to the end for some excellent ti...

Earlier this year, Washington became the seventh state in the US to pass an Extended Producer Responsibility Bill for packaging. The bill, SB 5284—The Recycling Reform Act—was supported by Upstream and civic and elected partners around Washington state, and includes something rarely featured in EPR bills: best practices for reuse.   In this episode, host Brooking Gatewood digs in with WA State Rep...

A conversation with Doug Calem and Dan Barash from the Central Ohio Reuse Coalition, Emily Alfred from Reusable Toronto, and Maddie Kaufman from Zero Waste Miami about the on-the-ground work they are doing in their different communities. From fundraising and business collaboration, to work with reuse at venues and businesses, to bridging the gap between all local reuse sectors, these leaders share...

Upstream’s Sydney Harris is joined by the US Plastics Pact’s Olivia Merritt Fitzgerald and Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s Olga Kachook to discuss the growing drive for reuse among consumer brands. They share the details of two recent reports that map a path for bringing reuse to the retail setting and which product lines are best poised for the switch—plus the USPP’s initiative to turn these fi...

A perennial hot topic in the world of reuse advocacy is reuse and refill in food codes. At a recent meeting of the Reuse Solutions Network (RSN), we tapped some folks with direct experience in the field to share insights about key updates to the federal food code, plus strategies to both update your own state's code—including collaboration, coalition building, education, and stakeholder engagement...

Switching schools to reusable foodware reduces waste and helps teach the next generation that there’s a better way than throw-away — but our team’s research shows dishwasher funding as the #1 one hurdle to transitioning schools. In this episode, we learn how it can be done, with parents, principals, key partners, and in this case, a little policy-making magic, too. Join Monica Campagna of the Glen...

We have the information we need to make positive change—including implementing reuse systems. So how do we get people to act? Host Brooking Gatewood takes a deep dive into the psychology of normalizing reuse and influencing behavior change with experts Jennifer Carrigan and Katie Patrick. From emphasizing the importance of making reuse the default option, to highlighting the power of gamification...

Last Fall, Upstream kicked off one of the most exciting reuse projects in the country right now, transforming concessions in the South Rim of the Grand Canyon to create the largest reuse system in the US and the first at a national park. Tune in to learn more from Upstream’s Jennifer Carrigan and Madhavi Trikha about this in-process model for open-loop reuse for national parks—and beyond. Resource...

2025 will go down in history as the year the universal Reuse symbol was born. PR3’s Amy Larkin and design expert Cybelle Jones talk about the power of symbols and the current design initiative calling on creatives to develop a symbol that will help catalyze a cultural shift and normalize reuse around the world. Applications are due May 31 for this chance to be part of history—and part of the PR3 R...

In this conversation, we dig into how reuse contributes to workforce development and economic opportunity - now and for future generations. Host Brooking Gatewood sits down with Matthew Luisier of r. World, a fast-growing reuse service provider, and Natasha Wayne with Reaching All Minds Academy, a charter school that has taken on the challenge of switching back to reusables as part of its STEM thr...

In the last few years, we’ve seen a big step-up from sports & entertainment venue leaders around the US to build reuse programs for arena and stadium concessions. Christy Briggs, Sustainability Manager for Lumen Field & the Seattle Seahawks and Mary McCarthy, VP of Sustainability for Levy Restaurants – hospitality provider to 350+ major venues – discuss some of the latest developments, next steps,...

Host Brooking Gatewood sits down with Isabel Mack, creator of Party Kit Network, and Toni Mason with Bull City Boomerang Bags to talk about the power of community-focused, non-policy reuse initiatives. Especially for those living in areas where it is difficult to enact policy, there’s still plenty you can do to engage in local change-making. Listen in for some stories of the challenges and joys of...

As packaging extended producer responsibility (EPR) gets off the ground across the US, the time is right to shine a spotlight on reuse. Upstream’s newest position paper breaks down exactly what to expect of a best-in-class producer responsibility organization (PRO) when it comes to supporting and planning for a transition to reusable packaging systems within EPR programs. This rebroadcast of a rec...

Switching K-12 schools to reusables in their cafeterias is a focus for many in the reuse movement: it’s a win-win-win for improving children’s health, educating and empowering the community around sustainability issues, and providing an impressive ROI for school administrators. That said, no change is easy, and barriers such as up-front funding, dishwashing, and staffing are real challenges. Thank...

As Dr. Manasa Mantravadi, pediatrician and founder of the reusable foodware company Ahimsa®, points out—schools need data to make decisions. The Conscious Cafeteria Report, produced by Upstream and Ahimsa, is the latest evidence-based study projecting the environmental and financial impact of switching to reuse in K-12 schools, while robustly making the case for transitioning away from single-use...

Innovation in healthcare is no easy feat, as we learn in this conversation with Russell Gong, Co-founder and President of Cabinet Health. The fast-growing B-Corp on a mission to eliminate single-use plastic in medicine is starting by confronting the challenge of billions of disposable plastic pill bottles used annually in this country, with first-in-class models for reusable and refillable bottles...

Plastic Free MKE (Milwaukee) leaders Leah Holloway of Milwaukee Riverkeeper and Meenal Atre of the Urban Ecology Center share the story of this city-level coalition’s success in reducing plastic pollution in a state that doesn’t allow for policies banning “auxiliary containers” (e.g. plastic packaging). From loophole-focused policy wins to a Lake Friendly dining program, the insights from our gues...

The Conservative States & Provinces group—a subgroup of the Reuse Solutions Network— brings together advocates from areas where it is harder to pass policy so they can share and troubleshoot ways to advance reuse despite the obstacles. And one major barrier folks living in conservative states often face is preemption, aka “bans on bans.” If a town wants to pass a Skip the Stuff ordinance, for inst...

Host Brooking Gatewood sits down with Jessica Gonzalez, founder of Happen Ventures, to talk about their creative reuse business logistics services that solve waste problems, support communities, and creates a new climate-conscious business niche in the circular economy. From redistributing truckloads of unused PPE headed for the trash to connecting amputees to single shoes from display windows, le...

Hear the inspiring story of Maryland Department of Aging’s Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Reuse Program, one of the winners of the 2024 Reusies Community of the Year Award. Program director Ian Edwards sits down with host Brooking Gatewood to share their recipe for success in reusing wheelchairs, walkers, hospital beds and more in Maryland—and how other states can follow suit to improve lives whi...

Post Landfill Action Network (PLAN) has been cooking up some serious systemic change strategies for college campus reuse programs. As a follow up to last Fall’s episode 140, we check in with Atlas Program staff Lisa Smart plus students Abby White and Katin Kendrana to talk about the latest developments in this long-term strategic initiative to transform reuse in campus dining across the country. ...

When Leslie Bateman left New York City, she was shocked to discover how hard it was to find shoe repair in her new town. A new business, Coblrshop, was born when she met business operations maven Emily Watts, and together they set out to modernize how cobblers and customers connect. Join us for a candid chat about the challenges and joys of building the leather repair start-up that, less than two...

Christiana Dujardin, who works within the Materials & Circular Economy Platform at Systemiq, served as lead analyst on a 2023 Ellen MacArthur Foundation report all about returnable reusable packaging and its economic and environmental impact compared to single-use, called Unlocking A Reuse Revolution - Scaling Returnable Packaging . She sits down with guest host, Upstream’s Policy Director Sydney...

How are reuse, climate change, and environmental justice related? In intricate and myriad ways, it turns out—which guests Holly Kaufman of the Plastics & Climate Project, circular economy expert Rich Grousset, and Jo Banner of the Descendants Project explore in depth in this recording of the summer Reuse Solutions Network (RSN) meeting.  Resources:  Sign up for the RSN The Plastics and Climate Pro...

Learn about the growth and evolution of a small community group that is a force for change in Upstate New York—taking on issues from artificial turf to BYO campaigns, to Skip the Stuff legislation. It is this latter action that spurred Yayoi Koizumi, founder of Zero Waste Ithaca and co-founder of BYO-US Reduces, to contact Upstream for help in making the case for Skip the Stuff. Leveraging our pow...