The Indisposable Podcast®

Chart-Reuse™ by Upstream is a first-in-industry foodware reuse analytics platform that has recently soft-launched to the public. Ideated and developed over the last few years with major food service and fast food companies as pilot partners, this transformative tool allows food service companies to calculate cost, waste and greenhouse gas emission impacts, and manage their shift from single-use to...

Working on reuse solutions in Indonesia is much the same as in the US – setting standards, organizing campaigns, implementing and iterating policy at the local level. But the region faces additional challenges with the burdens of pollution and plastic waste literally arriving on their shores from countries in the Global North. In this context, the reuse victories Tiza Mafira has helped achieve are...

You may know award-winning actress Alysia Reiner as Fig on the hit Netflix show Orange is the New Black - but did you know she is also an ambassador and change-maker for reuse and sustainability? Alysia sits down with host Matt Prindiville to discuss her work as an activist and ecopreneur, her positive approach to changing hearts and minds on climate and reuse – and how, with a little creative thi...

Reuse service company r. Cup has been making big moves lately, and event-goers are eagerly embracing their reusable cup systems. Not content to rest on their laurels after winning the award for Most Innovative Food & Beverage Company at The Reusies 2022, r. Cup has been expanding into new cities, landing deals with high-profile event producers, and forging partnerships with big brands to create th...

As Vice President of Innovation Discovery at Clorox, Miranda Helmer knows that a key to measurable success in reuse is cooperation – sharing ideas and information that will help bring reuse solutions to scale – though it can be hard to get other corporations to see it that way. So rather than waiting for change to come to them, Clorox is leading by example as a member of the Reuse Refill Action Fo...

Evan Abel, Head of Service Design at the Rounds, sits down with host Matt Prindiville to discuss how the company is taking delivery to a new level of convenience. Their “psychic home manager” handles the inventory of everyday essentials in your home, anticipating and bringing you goods exactly when you need them – with zero waste.  With its cutting-edge software, the company learns what you want,...

Can reusable packaging be convenient, cost-effective and even “smart”? Host Matt Prindiville sits down with Brian Bauer of Algramo, who shows us how his company is transforming customers’ relationship to packaging with technology, elegantly designed systems and standardization across a number of big brands.  Winner of The Reusies® 2022 Most Innovative award for consumer packaged goods, Algramo is...

Electronics pose a special challenge when it comes to waste. Many people don’t know how to properly dispose of their old computers and cell phones, which can end up unused in drawers, or worse yet, releasing toxins in landfills. Others don’t have access to them to begin with. Enter Human-I-T, reuse innovator and Reuse Community of the Year at the 2022 Reusies. They put more than 60,000 refurbished...

Upstream's latest Indisposable Live panel is now available as a podcast! This engaging discussion on the New Reuse Economy features Upstream CEO & Chief Solutioneer Matt Prindiville, Anita Schwartz (WSP USA) and Crystal Dreisbach (Don’t Waste Durham / Green to Go NC), and was hosted by Upstream's Chief Strategy Officer, Priscilla Johnson.  Learn from these thought leaders why reuse beats single-us...

Join our newest host, Upstream Chief Strategy Officer Priscilla Johnson, as she sits down with Dave Ford, founder of Ocean Plastics Leadership Network (OPLN) for a wide-ranging discussion on national and international reuse and climate solutions. The two cover current and future plastics treaties, companies that are stepping up to the plate, organizations pressing for urgent action to confront the...

Prompted by the enormous amount of single-use plastic waste at stadiums and in the locker room, professional baseball player and environmental advocate Chris Dickerson co-founded Players for the Planet with teammate Jack Cassel. Chris sits down with host Matt Prindiville to talk about the bringing together athletes as advocates and the platform they have to influence change, as well as the challen...

Kristy Drutman is an environmental justice advocate and Founder & Creator of Browngirl Green, a media platform and podcast committed to promoting diversity & inclusion in the environmental field as well as creative solutions to the climate crisis. And she’s also hosting The Reusies this year! Tune into an uplifting conversation about how Kristy uses the power of social media to tell solutions-focu...

Listen in for some real talk about the evolution of venture capital to fund sustainable solutions, with 2022 Reusies Judge Doreen Wong of the Sustainable Ocean Alliance. In this episode, we explore Doreen’s unique career path from engineer to climate tech venture capital specialist – as well as her take on key issues and trends when it comes to diversity and inclusion in this powerful industry.  R...

Welcome to our 100th episode of The Indisposable Podcast! In this special celebratory conversation, our hosts Brooking Gatewood and Matt Prindiville take a reflective amble down episode lane and share some behind-the-scenes stories – like how the podcast got started with a fateful phone call to Lithuania, what it was like talking to their personal heroes, and favorite moments and insights from the...

GreenBiz Group is a media and events company that’s working to accelerate a just transition to a clean economy. Not only do they do cutting edge journalism at the intersection of business, technology and sustainability, they also organize incredible events – like the Circularity Conference – that bring together business, non-profit and government leaders to learn, network and catalyze new opportun...

Poonam Watine, 2022 Reusies Judge and WEF knowledge expert, is helping curate some exciting new networks and resource hubs to support the scaling of reuse across the globe. Tune in to learn about the Global Plastic Innovation Network, the brand new Reuse Portal, and more – and how all of it hinges on local action to spur global momentum for the new reuse economy.  Resources:  WEF's Reuse Portal Up...

Global Plastic Pacts bring together stakeholders from across the plastics value chain to work at the ground level to build a new circular economy – one that eliminates unnecessary plastic and emphasizes reuse and refill. This week’s guest Marta Longhurst, Manager of the Plastics Pact Initiative at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMAF) discusses the momentum the Pacts are building and the critical...

“At the end of the day, people and the planet are connected,” says Dr. Manasa Mantravadi, “And the lasting impact between the two are not going to be felt by us, but by our children, and our children's children.”  In this episode, Brooking Gatewood sits down with Dr. Mantravadi – pediatrician, mother, advocate, 2022 Reusies ® Judge, and founder of the stainless steel container company Ahimsa - who...

We welcome back the legendary William McDonough, architect and vanguard of the circular economy to The Indisposable Podcast. (He is also returning as a judge and will be presenting at The Reusies this year!). Journey with Bill as he describes how the revelatory intersections of science, art, math, and nature influenced his approach to design, sustainability, and ultimately – a model for the new re...

Hollywood actor & director turned Solutioneer John Charles Meyer is the Executive Director of Plastic Free Restaurants – a new nonprofit that helps restaurants, schools, and other US organizations who want financial and technical assistance to shift from single-use to reuse. Plastic Free Restaurants has already helped keep millions of pieces of plastic out of our waste stream. Listen in to find ou...

Reuse Seattle is a public-private partnership among the City of Seattle; the city’s major sports and entertainment venues; restaurants and businesses; PR3; and a growing list of new partners. They’re working to create practical solutions and standardized systems to help the city’s businesses and residents move from single-use to reuse – making it accessible, affordable, and convenient for everyone...

Caren McNamara of Conscious Container and Matt Swihart of Double Mountain Brewery & Cidery were both inspired by seeing reuse/refill operations in action on their worldwide travels – and wanted to bring these systems to life in the U.S. Now they are pioneering beverage refill in the beer and wine industries. In this week’s episode, they share both the enthusiasm and challenges they have encountere...

In this special episode honoring Juneteenth, we talk about environmental justice and how the one-way, throw-away, linear economy doesn’t just trash the planet, it destroys lives and communities as well - especially communities of color in sacrifice zones here in the United States and around the globe. Learn insights from two esteemed leaders in the environmental justice movement – Dr. Ana Baptista...

In celebration of World Oceans Day, host Brooking Gatewood sits down with National Reuse Network member and Director of Programs for Oceanic Global, Cassia Patel, to learn about our oceans and some of the collaborative organizing happening around the world to help protect them. We also talk about Oceanic Global’s exciting Blue Standard certification and training program to help businesses choose o...

This week, in celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (or AAPI Heritage Month), we talk about AAPI leadership and community-building with Grace Lee of ReThink Disposable, a program of the Clean Water Fund, that has led to some of the most essential pilot projects fostering change in the reuse movement today.  Raised in Los Angeles by scientists from Taiwan, Grace has a long history of...