The Reusies, created by Upstream, champions the heroes making reuse a reality for people across the US & Canada by uplifting their stories and providing them with meaningful support.

It’s an awards show and so much more: a platform to highlight solutions, an inspirational spark to encourage innovation and collaboration, and a resource to help the reuse movement grow.

Upstream is a US-based non-profit and leading change agency for the reuse movement in the US and Canada. Their mission is to accelerate the transition from our current throw-away economy to one that is regenerative, circular and equitable by normalizing reuse, growing and supporting the reuse industry, and creating an enabling policy environment for reuse. Learn more at upstreamsolutions.org.

Most Innovative Reuse Company: This award is intended for businesses that provide a service that keeps reusables circulating in our economy. Think: a dishwashing service that picks up and returns real dishes to a restaurant, or a to-go coffee cup that is collected for return and reuse by the cafe that provides it. The service provider could also offer a product – like bath & body or cleaning products that are sold in containers meant for refill by the same provider. Awards are offered in three sectors: Consumer Packaged Good, Fashion & Apparel, and Food & Beverage.

Activist of the Year: This award is intended for the individual changemakers and heroes who are championing reduce, refill and reuse solutions in their communities. They could be working in an unpaid or paid capacity as the leader of or part of a grassroots group; advocating for reuse on your own; or otherwise acting as a reuse role model through thought leadership and/or on the ground action.

Community of the Year: This award is intended for community groups, coalitions, student groups, nonprofits, and NGOs working to make reuse a reality in their communities. For example, they could be supporting the buildout of reuse projects and infrastructure in their community; working on reuse-focused policy initiatives; or designing and implementing awareness campaigns.

Any person, group, or business who feels they fit the category descriptions, and whose work is primarily based in the US or Canada, may apply to The Reusies.

The online application period is closed for 2024. Please come back next year! Sign up for updates here.

All winners receive special features on Upstream’s engaged social media and email audiences, as well as in-kind prizes courtesy of our amplifying partners.

We also added some exciting incentives in 2024.

Upstream awarded all Activist and Community group winners (three in each category) with a monetary prize of $2,500 each.

The nine Most Innovative Reuse Company finalists were each eligible for an All-Access pass to attend Circularity 24 (valued at $2,152 USD), and were invited to participate in programming at the conference as a speaker or panelist — and the winners accepted their awards in person!

Also new for this year, Upstream offered consultation from our own team of reuse experts to best suit winners’ needs.

For the Most Innovative Reuse Company awards, a selection committee narrows down three finalists in each category (consumer packaged goods, fashion & apparel and food & beverage), and a separate panel of judges selected one winner for each category. Finalists were informed in early April and winners were announced on stage at Circularity in May.

For the Activist and Community of the Year awards, a selection committee selected three winners from each category.

Visit the past winners pages below:

Activists

Communities

Innovators

The Reusies is always on the lookout for non-profit partners to help amplify the event and provide in-kind assistance, as well as for corporate sponsors to provide much-needed financial support. We have a variety of ways to feature our partners and sponsors leading up to, and on the day of the event.

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact julie@upstreamsolutions.org

For partnership inquiries, please contact ben@upstreamsolutions.org.

As a small 501(c)(3), we are always appreciative of individual donors who are willing to help underwrite costs for valuable programming like The Reusies. Donate today.

The Upstream website has a vast array of tools and educational resources on reuse for a variety of audiences, including activists, entrepreneurs, government officials, and those who are just getting started on their reuse journeys.

We encourage you to sign up for Upstream’s weekly newsletter here to stay up to date on the latest news from Upstream and the wider world of reuse.