Transforming & Eliminating Waste

For Immediate Release: June 28, 2024

Innovative organizations are working to eliminate waste by reducing single-use packaging at the source, instead of focusing on end-of-pipe solutions as recycling does.  Only about 5% to 6% of plastics are being recycled each year in the United States—hardly making a difference.  Reuse on the other hand, can eliminate up to 90% of packaging production and 80% of associated climate emissions compared with single-use alternatives.

With the recent Re-X Before Recycling Prize from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the nonprofit organizations Upstream and PR3 The Global Alliance to Advance Reuse, a RESOLVE initiative, can continue to look beyond recycling to test approaches, develop standards and build out the infrastructure needed for reuse systems to thrive.

The DOE launched the Re-X Before Recycling Prize to promote private investment and innovation in circular economy initiatives.  With this funding, Upstream and PR3 will continue their work to create systems where foodware and consumer goods are returned, washed and reintegrated into a robust reuse system.  

Reuse is not a new idea.  Unfortunately, in the last 60 years, we have created a take-make-waste economy where single-use is the norm, at least in the United States.  Reuse may seem like a straightforward solution—we already have the product, so why not reuse it? However, implementing a new system is more challenging than it appears. Single-use items like disposable drink cups and take-out containers are so ingrained in our culture and way of life that replacing them with reusables requires envisioning entirely new products, infrastructure, and logistical frameworks.  Fortunately, Upstream and PR3 have that vision.

The two organizations’ plans complement each other. PR3 has developed the only global standards for reusable packaging that are now being reviewed and accredited by a Panel of experts (including Upstream) composed of multinationals, environmental justice advocates, small reuse service providers, scientists, consumer groups, and packaging producers.   PR3 is thrilled to work with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to expand and enhance the blueprint for the reuse infrastructure grid.  

“With our Panel, we’re creating the standards needed to launch the world’s multi-use economy,” said Amy Larkin, PR3 co-founder and Director.  “It’s the only way we’ll solve our waste, pollution and climate crises.”

Meanwhile, Upstream will tackle the high upfront costs that typically hinder the development of a reusable foodware system by researching and identifying the infrastructure needed for it to be successful. It will start with exploring high-volume sectors like stadiums and events venues, food producers, foodservice, beverage, schools and airports that will make the investment in reuse infrastructure profitable. 

“Reuse systems are a unique economic model that need high upfront investment in logistics and infrastructure”, says Crystal Dreisbach, Upstream's CEO. “That means facilities, equipment, trucks, and staff that make it possible for returnable packaging to be recovered, washed, and redistributed. We’re going to use this prize to uncover the financial linchpins to making those reuse systems possible in every city.”

The Re-X prize is structured into three phases, and the two organizations were among the twenty awarded the Phase 1 grant on June 17th.

Upstream and PR3, close collaborators, are both leading change agencies in the reuse movement, paving the way for a more sustainable and resilient economy. Upstream and PR3 are focused on reducing waste and imagining a future where the single-use economy is a thing of the past.