low waste

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 role they play in creating platforms for cross-sector alignment and collaboration.

Resources: 

• The Ellen MacArthur Foundation
• About the Plastics Pact Network
• EMAF on the elimination of problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging
• The New Plastics Economy Vision
• Upstream Publication: Infrastructure to scale the New Reuse Economy

“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 set out to change the systems that expose children to harmful plastic food packaging and pollute the planet.

Resources:

• Ahimsa
• The Unwrapped Project
• Environmental Working Group
• Plastic Free Restaurants
• Upstream’s Learning Hub: Reuse in Schools

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 reuse economy.

Resources: 

• mcdonough.com
• Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
• The Upcycle
• Be a Reuser, Not a Consumer: 2021 Indisposable Podcast interview with William McDonough

"When you look at the vast majority of disposal and production sites of plastic, they're in communities that have been long underserved. There's a pattern here and there's a reason."

Today we’re talking to Erica Cirino, a science writer, author, artist and communications manager of the Plastic Pollution Coalition. Erica’s work focuses a lot around plastic crisis and how it’s affecting us and the whole world around us. She chronicled her work in her new book, thicker than water which explored solutions to our plastic problem.

Video version: https://youtu.be/IcN6f65JjQw
The key topics in today's episode:
04:00 - Erica's background
08:30 - Why is plastic a problem?
14:30 - The racial issue with plastic
18:00 - Building a plastic-free home
26:00 - How the industry influences the public
41:00 - Where to start  if you want to reduce plastic use
46:00 - Visiting the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
55:00 - Fake solutions
59:00 - The role of businesses

Resources:
Connect with Erica:
Website | http://www.ericacirino.com/
Book | https://islandpress.org/books/thicker-water
Website | https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/

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Connect with me:
Instagram | @plant.paradigm
YouTube | The Plant Paradigm
Twitter | @plantparadigm
Website | www.theplantparadigm.com

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 out how, and how you can help! 

Resources:

• Plastic Free Restaurants
• Find Plastic Free Restaurants Around the US
• PPC’s Flip the Script Campaign
• Rethink Disposable’s Case Studies & Resources
• Recent NPR piece on the impact of PFAS chemicals 
• Upstream’s Reuse Wins report 
• Upstream’s Reuse Outreach Playbook
• Upstream’s learning hub on Reuse in Food Service
• The #SkipTheStuff policy campaign

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. They’re also one of the most recent to join Upstream’s national network of reuse coalitions. Meet Reuse Seattle’s leaders Stephanie Thomas of Cascadia Consulting and Pat Kaufman of Seattle Public Utilities as they describe the city’s exciting evolution toward reuse for all – and the power of partnerships in getting there.

Resources: 

• Reuse Seattle
• Cascadia Consulting
• Seattle Public Utilities
• PR3
• r.Cup
• GoBox
• Upstream podcast about PR3: Setting the Standard for Reuse
• About Upstream’s Community Coalitions
• Celebrating the Visionary Sego Jackson on his Retirement

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 encountered, plus why the economic and environmental benefits make it all worthwhile – especially if we can get a national bottle bill on board. 

Resources:

• Conscious Container
• Double Mountain Brewery & Cidery
• Upstream’s Reuse Hub: Deposit Refund Systems and Refillable Containers
• The New Reuse Economy: How the Beverage Sector's Re-embrace of Refill Will Transform the Industry

Exklusiv für unsere Podcast Community: Lerne in diesem kostenlosen E-Book, wie du deinen eigenen Onlineshop startest!

Hier gibt es weitere Informationen zu everdrop,  inkl. Show Notes.

Kernthemen der Folge:

• Von der Sinnkrise zum Unternehmen: Wie die 3 Gründer zu everdrop kamen
• 60 Mitarbeiter nach 15 Monaten - ein raketenartiger Start
• Produkttests und Marktforschung: Vorteile der Produktentwicklung mit der Community
• Vom Bootstrap-Start zu Millionen-Investitionen
• Wie everdrop im Haifischbecken der großen Konkurrenten mitmischt
• Erfolgsfaktoren, die den Unterschied machen
• Wie man Nachhaltigkeit und Wirtschaftlichkeit vereint
• Ein Aufruf an alle Personen mit nachhaltigem Gründungswunsch

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, Professor at the Milano School of Policy, Management & Environment and Co-Director of the Tishman Environment & Design Center at The New School; and Jose Bravo, Executive Director of the Just Transition Alliance – as they discuss how systemic racism, historical and ongoing, continues to bring the most devastating climate impacts to people of color, what effective allyship looks like, and how reuse fits in as part of a holistic solution to addressing this legacy and bringing restorative justice to frontline communities.

Resources:

• Milano School of Policy, Management & Environment
• Tishman Environment & Design Center
• Just Transition Alliance
• Exploring the History of Environmental Justice to Support Anti-Racism
• Indisposable Organizing: Black Leadership on the Front Lines

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 ocean-friendly solutions, including ditching plastic!

Resources:

• World Oceans Day
• Oceanic Global's Blue Standard Certification

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 leadership for environmental stewardship in California, including her work leading ReThink’s groundbreaking business engagement efforts in Los Angeles and Oakland. She sits down with Brooking Gatewood for an honest chat about how her experiences as an Asian American have shaped her life and work to protect our earth, and shares stories of AAPI restaurant owners leading the way toward indisposable dining. 

Resources:

• ReThink Disposable
• Follow ReThink Disposable on Instagram: @thefutureisreusable
• Register for ReThink’s May 31 webinar: Yes to Reuse! Meet Reuse Champions of Alameda County
• Watch: recording of Reusables Win in SF livestream (featuring Grace Lee and Anh Nguyen of Cam Anh Deli)
• Visit Cam Anh Deli (Oakland, CA) and try their delicious banh mi!
• Reuse Business Profile Summary: Restaurants featuring Pan-Asian or Pacific Island Cuisines
• Upstream's Roadmap to Reuse Resource Library with other Restaurant Profiles

This week's episode is all about standards – why they're needed to scale reusable packaging and infrastructure, and how they serve as a critical piece of the puzzle that enables businesses to operate and thrive in the growing circular economy.  Host Matt Prindiville sits down with Amy Larkin and Claudette Juska, Co-Founders of PR3 at RESOLVE, who have dug in hard on the infrastructure question. They launched PR3 to develop Reusable Packaging Design Standards to help transform the current landscape of disconnected, small-scale reuse pilots into full-scale, interoperable public-private systems. And they’re now working with the City of Seattle, local sports and entertainment venues, and businesses to create a model that can be replicated around the world.

Resources: 

• RESOLVE-PR3
• The New Reuse Economy
• Upstream’s Reuse Wins report and Tomorrow’s New Reuse Economy

Across America, thousands of people are organizing in local communities to help build a better way than throw-away in their cities and towns. In this episode, we speak with organizers from three very different U.S. cities in different stages of the work and learn about their shared challenges and key elements of success in building coalitions for change. With Doug Calem (Columbus, OH), Dawn Rodriguez (Austin, TX), and Alejandra Warren (San Mateo County, CA).

Resources:

• A Giant Leap Toward Throw-away Free Living
• The Power of Community and Coalitions
• Redefining the win: building power from the grassroots up
• 2021 Plastics Policy Roundup
• Into the Sea
• Reusable San Mateo County
• Join a Community Coalition

We all agree that corporations need to have some skin in the game when it comes to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), green design and taking their packaging back for reuse or recycling – but the devil is truly in the details. There’s good EPR and bad EPR. Kirstie Pecci of the Conservation Law Foundation and Judith Enck of Beyond Plastics have been working intimately on EPR in several states this legislative session, as well as deposit-return systems for beverages (e.g. “bottle bills”). Dive deep with these policy experts on the nuances of EPR for packaging that ensures a shift to a circular economy and prevents harmful recycling practices. 

Resources:

• Beyond Plastics
• Conservation Law Foundation
• EPR Resources from Upstream
• Bottle Bill Resources from Upstream

In this episode, we celebrate Earth Day and this year’s official Earth Day theme – invest in our planet– by talking about how we can invest in reusable systems to help solve climate and environmental justice issues. With Upstream’s own policy analyst Marcel Howard and Rich Grousset of Re:Dish, we discuss what actions we can take and explore Upstream’s new Climate & Reuse Toolkit, which contains tools and resources to help advocates integrate reuse into climate action strategies.

Resources:

• Upstream’s Climate & Reuse Toolkit
• Re:Dish

As fans return to sporting arenas and music lovers celebrate the return of concerts and festivals, sustainability issues at events and venues are coming back into focus – specifically, what to do about the ever-present disposable plastic cup.

In partnership with the Green Sports Alliance, Upstream kicked off their new Indisposable Live™ series by discussing the experiences of entrepreneurs and associations wrestling with how to do reuse at events and large venues. Upstream’s Chief Solutioneer/CEO, Matt Prindiville hosted special guests who are innovating solutions around single-use at large scale events including Roger McClendon from Green Sports Alliance, Michael Martin from r.Cup/r.Ware, and Ryan Everton from TURN.

Tune into this lively discussion and learn more about how our guests started their businesses, their plans for the future, how they’re adapting – and even thriving – during the pandemic, and how you can help bring their services to your own community.

Resources:

• Upstream’s full life-cycle analysis of reusable and single-use cups at events
• Eliminating single use cups at events (vlog/blog)
• Aluminum cups at the Super Bowl not so super (blog)
• A conversation with Roger McClendon, Green Sports Alliance on the Indisposable Podcast

Celebrating women’s history month and reuse entrepreneurs, in this episode we speak with Anukampa Freedom Gupta-Fonner, Reusies 2021 finalist for Activist of the Year – and founder of Design by Freedom, an invention company propelling the circular economy and working to make trash history. Freedom is fully devoting her attention to designing a  new way of getting groceries without all the waste: Her DC-based reuse grocery system, called Spring, will be launching this year. Join Freedom and host Brooking Gatewood as they discuss the power of supporting women’s leadership and the design challenges of changing one of the most fundamental parts of American society: how we get our food.

Resources:

• Spring groceries
• Design by Freedom
• Guide to eliminating plastic waste during grocery shopping

Roger McClendon is the Executive Director of the Green Sports Alliance (GSA), a trade organization that convenes stakeholders from around the sporting world to promote healthy, waste-free communities where we live and play. Learn about Roger’s journey from being a superstar college basketball player, to founding the Chief Sustainability Officer role at Yum Brands (parent company to KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut, among others), to focusing on sustainability for both people and planet at the GSA. Host Matt Prindiville welcomes Roger on the show to talk about the positive changes happening at sporting venues and about sustainability as an essential business strategy not only for the environment but for the bottom line.

Resources:

• Green Sports Alliance
• Reuse Wins at Events report
• Register for the Reuse Wins at Events livestream  (by March 23, 2022)

The podcast journeys down under to Australia! Brooking Gatewood sits down with early reuse Solutioneer, Abigail Forsyth, Founder/CEO of KeepCup – one of the top reusable cup companies in the world and voted #1 reusable cup by GQ in 2021.  Abigail talks about the early days of trying to normalize reuse in her community while owning/operating a Melbourne cafe in the late 90s. From designing their own barista-standard reusable cups to advancing the reuse movement and the next phase of KeepCup’s evolution, this B Corp is another great example as to why reuse is just as important for people and the economy as it is for the planet.

Resources:

• www.Keepcup.com
• Upstream’s Roadmap to Reuse: a step-by-step guide for policymakers and activists for bringing reuse to their communities 
• About B Corps
• About 1% for the Planet

The problem of plastic pollution is not just a matter of waste – it is also a matter of justice. As Gulf Coast organizer John Beard notes, communities living in areas of petrochemical extraction are living in “sacrifice zones” and suffering the toxic consequences of our extractive economy without even receiving the benefits of industry jobs. And all across the country, these communities – all too often communities of color – are fighting back and fighting for the right for clean air, water, and a just transition to a regenerative economy where people and planet are seen as indisposable.  

As we near the end of Black History Month, join us in honoring the incredible work of some of the many Black organizers in the Break Free From Plastic movement, and get to know a few of our community leaders working on petrochem-related organizing. Join John, Louisiana-based organizer Kaitlyn Joshua, and BFFP US Coordinator Melissa Aguayo for a frank and inspiring discussion of how racial, environmental, and climate justice intersect – and how intersectional organizing and solidarity can change our world. 

Resources: 

• Port Arthur Community Action Network
• Earthworks
• Environmental Justice Facebook group
• Rise St. James
• Toxic Tours
• Save Sabine Lake
• Break Free From Plastic  
• John Beard on LinkedIn
• Kaitlyn Joshua on LinkedIn