Series Intro
The plastics crisis is out of control, and corporations are trying to distract us with false promises like recycling and ocean clean-ups. But there are much simpler, more creative ways to solve this waste problem — ones we can start with today.
The Reusable Foodware Solution Every Restaurant Needs
This Meals on Wheels program serving 25,000 meals a week saved $32,000 in just the first year after switching to reusable containers. What if every food service program and restaurant adopted the same practice?
Designing Plastic Out of Household Products
How can we use design to creatively re-imagine our world without single-use plastic? In many cases, it’s just a matter of thinking outside of the bottle. Featuring Blueland!
Repair
The apparel industry is churning out new designs so quickly that its inventory can almost be considered single-use plastic. In the outdoor world, most clothing designed for camping, hiking, and other rugged conditions uses nylon and polyester, fibers made from plastic.
Reusable Shipping Packages
In 2018, a total of 13.5 billion packages were shipped in the United States — that’s a whole lot of single-use plastic packaging. Companies like RePack are beginning to offer an innovative new business model, leasing reusable bags to retailers that sell goods online.
Imagining an Economy Where You Don’t Have to Buy Anything
What if we didn’t have to spend any money on the things we need, and could instead get them from our neighbors and build a stronger community in the process? When Liesl Clark and Rebecca Rockefeller started the Buy Nothing Project, that’s what they set out to create. With hundreds of groups around the world now, the infrastructure of Buy Nothing could transform our economy into one where resources are cycled rather than wasted.
Cheers to Bottle Deposit Systems
Double Mountain Brewery teamed up with eight other Oregon-based breweries to design a standardized, refillable glass bottle that can be refilled and used over and over again. What can the world learn from their system?
Refill Vending Machines
Algramo makes zero-waste shopping accessible to people in middle- and lower-income neighborhoods in Chile by using vending machines to refill containers.
The Reusable Cups Helping Concerts, Festivals and Sports Events Reduce Waste
Every year, millions of single-use cups and bottles are discarded at large events. Now instead, imagine a future where concerts, festivals and sporting events can be zero waste. Reuse platforms like TURN want to do just that.
