Communications Toolkit

Communications Toolkit

Our Serve Up Reuse campaign is about building momentum for a future where reuse is the norm—not the exception. To make reuse real in our communities, we need public will, media visibility, and pressure on decision-makers. That’s where strategic communications come in.

Whether you’re writing an op-ed to support local reuse legislation, submitting a letter to the editor in response to a plastic pollution article, or issuing a press release about a campaign win, your words can help shift the narrative. By lifting up local stories and calling out false solutions like so-called “recyclable” packaging, we can grow support for systemic solutions and keep corporate greenwashing in check.

This guide will walk you through how to write and place effective op-eds, letters to the editor (LTEs), and press releases, adapted from Upstream’s Skip the Stuff campaign. Use it to amplify your voice, center your community’s perspective, and make the case for a just, reusable future.

What’s in the toolkit?

  • All Communications Tools

  • Tools for Writing an OpEd, Letter to the Editor, and Press Release

  • Printable tools and Campaign Literature

    • Serve Up Reuse Campaign 1-Pager
      • Use this front and back paper-sized explainer for flyering across town, tabling, or even just spreading the word to your friends. This 1-pager explains why we need reuse policies, how reuse looks in practice in food service, explains key benefits of reuse, and overviews how we build a “reuse economy.” Reuse wins – environmentally, economically, and socially.
    • Postcard-to-Legislator Template
      • Use this template to create a postcard action campaign. Decide what legislators to target and provide their names and addresses in a targets list. Design the postcard and accompany it with 2  to 3 short sample scripts for users to add. You can print out post cards and provide them to people. Ask people to host a post-card writing party, or order a bunch to fill out on their own.

  • Tools for Email

    • Email Action Alert Template
      • Organizations with grassroots advocacy software can host the email action. To effectively set up an email action to legislators, begin by identifying the right people to contact  (local or state electeds) and their email addresses. Share the list along with this template and invite people to craft a more personalized message if possible. Ensure the email provides states a specific call to action (like asking a legislator to support or oppose a policy) and includes the sender’s contact information to show they are a constituent.
      • Example 1
      • Example 2