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  • Take Action
    • Quick Action
    • Fight Plastic Pollution
    • Unbottle Water
    • Stop Junk Mail
  • Learn
    • Movies
    • The Story of Plastic
    • Our Reports
    • Learning Tools
  • Community
    • Grassroots Grants
    • Host a Screening
  • About
  • Blog
  • Donate

Business Outreach Toolkit

Business Outreach

Local businesses are on the front lines of the single-use crisis — paying for disposable packaging, hauling fees, and the reputational costs of “business as usual.” We need to show them that reuse protects their bottom line and the planet. This toolkit equips you to learn about the types of food service operations in your community and understand just how many businesses are using a full-disposable or partially disposable model. It will help you craft outreach and share information with local businesses to spark that “aha!” moment. When you show the numbers and what their peers have experienced, it can turn owners, managers, and restaurant associations into reuse believers- or at least peel off their opposition to a reuse policy.

What’s in the toolkit?

  • Outreach Tools

    • Fact Sheets
      • These are examples of a fact sheet you might use as a leave-behind to show how reuse saves business money and protects the environment. Bring restaurant case studies from the resources folder with you to present a more convincing case for reuse.
        • Reusable LA Choose to Reuse (Spanish)
        • Reusable LA Choose to Reuse (English)
        • Marin County Impacts of Reuse for Onsite Dining
        • Costs of Single-Use vs Reusable Foodware 
        • Reuse for Onsite Dining Factsheet
    • Survey Examples
      • Conducting surveys is time-consuming especially because food business operators are hard to reach- they are so busy! But many local government agencies and reuse coalitions have conducted surveys of local food businesses in order to better understand the types of businesses in the community and what challenges they may face in transitioning to reusables.
        • San Francisco Survey of Cafes and Customers (2016)
        • Berkeley Survey of Cafes (2018)
        • Cupertino Restaurant Survey
        • LA County Assessment of Restaurant Attitudes on Sustainability in Foodware Practices
    • Resources to Share with Food Service Operators
      • Guides in this folder provide insights into overcoming the challenges of transitioning to reuse in food service.
        • Upstream: Switching to Reuse for Onsite Dining in Foodservice: Tips, Tricks & Considerations
        • Surfrider: Ocean-Friendly Foodware Guide
        • Eco-Cycle: Guide to Sustainable Serviceware Colorado
        • Upstream’s Chart Reuse Cost Calculator
        • Rethink Disposable Reusable Foodware Purchasing Guide
    • Sample Presentations to Business Associations
      • This sample presentation was used to show the Oakland Chamber of Commerce that reuse is good for the planet and the business bottom line. Presentations like this can help peel off opposition from local restaurant associations and business groups

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