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Home My WebLink About2023-06-23 Reusable Foodware Presentation to EMC1 Reusable Foodware: Hilo Community Engagement Zero Waste Hawai’i Island Our Mission: ZWHI connects diverse Hawai’i Island Communities to support equitable systems redesign and policy change to achieve zero waste. 2 3 Our Team 4 Jennifer Navarra Program Director K. Kuulei Kanahele Cultural Advisor Outreach Coordinator Ellen Okuma Community Liaison Devin Brown UH Hilo Bonner Student Intern Laurie Rich Operations Advisor Katrina Zavalney Strategic Planning & Org. Development Partnering at the community level to support the design and implementation of reuse systems — starting with foodware Our first four partner cities Ann Arbor, MI Population: 122,000 Food Service Establishments: 400+ Local Water Bodies: Huron River, the most microplastic-polluted tributary to the Great Lakes Other Commitments: 2030 Climate Neutrality Plan, which includes reuse of materials as a strategy. Galveston, TX Population: 53,000 Food Service Establishments: 200+ Local Water Bodies: Gulf of Mexico and the base for the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Other Commitments: 2020 Galveston Bay Watershed Aquatic Action Plan, which includes reducing single use plastic. Population: 147,000 Food Service Establishments: 600+ Local Water Bodies: Atlantic Ocean and located adjacent to Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary Other Commitments: City Council passed resolution to phase out single use plastics including plastic cups, utensils, and EPS takeout containers. (2021) Savannah/Chatham Cty Population: 44,000 Food Service Establishments: 200+ Local water bodies: Pacific Ocean and near the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument Other commitments: Hawai’i nearly passed an Extended Producer Responsibility bill that would fund reuse infrastructure. (2022) Hilo, HIOUR MODEL6 Upcomin g Perpetual Team ELLIE MOSS Executive Director DR. DAGNY TUCKER Chief of Strategy and Systems Design Marty Miles Galveston Business Engagement ManagerTEAM 7 Lead author of Sea of Opportunity, The Dirty Truth about Disposable Foodware and Reducing Plastic Pollution: Campaigns That Work, and led the work to create the Living Landscape of Reusable Solutions Started Vessel Works and Vessel Revolution, Inc., experience implemented systems from design to forward and reverse logistics, asset management, IoT technology, distribution, health and safety, point-of return, and LCA analysis Seasoned hospitality corporate executive, Hotel and Resort multi-unit operator, owner of small businesses and committed to successful implementation of city wide reusable foodware in Galveston Texas. AUTUMN BUFORD CALISTA MILLS Reuse Funding Research project lead researcher, internal guidance document for the Reusable Packaging Association on reusable transport packaging in ESG frameworks Guest team member from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Gulf of Mexico Division Circular Systems Specialist Physical Scientist Ziyu Ren Undergrad at UChicago, experience in geospatial data science for city-wide reuse systems, large-scale behavioral change researcher Data Science Intern Our collaboration model OUR MODELPerpetual Project management Technical & system design expertise Cross-city learning group Lead Local Partner Main point of contact in community Business engagement Volunteer management Behavioral Science Advisors Education & communication expertise Messaging campaigns City Governments Champion the program & build support Inform governance model Potential to invest in / own infrastructure Reuse Service Providers (TBD) Assets & asset management Washing & sortation Forward/reverse logistics Academic Partners Circular Assessment Protocol LCA parametric modeling GIS volume modeling & optimization Corporate Partners Engage in design process Share data on packaging volume & packaging assortment WORKING ACROSS CITIES WITHIN EACH CITY 8 Reuse just makes more sense than ‘disposable’ 9 Reuse is the largest lever for reducing plastic waste and pollution Reuse is a critical solution to plastic waste and pollution 10 Successful reuse systems have many benefits 11 Comparable cost for businesses Reduced sourcing risk for businesses Money stays in local community Less waste for community and county to manage Better eating and drinking experience Reduced exposure to chemicals of concern Good local jobs Income source for collectors Point of community connection Less litter/pollution Reductions in toxic emissions associated with extraction, transport & manufacturing of single-use plastics Reductions in net GHG emissions and other impacts Economy People Environment Reusable items circulate within a single location Reusable items circulate within a neighborhood or city Success stories at international and event scale: r.cup, Re:Dish 75 programs in U.S. & Europe currently, with proven tech for tracking, logistics, washing — but still small scale: Dispatch Goods, Bold Reuse. CLOSED LOOP OPEN LOOP 12 13 Check Out Collect Transport Wash & Dry Redistribute How Reuse Works Return bins are conveniently located all around town so that returning something is nearly as easy as throwing it in the trash Businesses pay a low per use fee for each reusable they provide to a customer At a centralized washing facility, staff clean, sanitize, inspect and repack reusable items Customers receive food and drinks in reusable containers. Reusables are free to customers as long as they return them Collection, cleaning, and redistribution provide good local jobs Businesses are (re)stocked with reusable items Example: Tim Hortons, ShareWares, Return-It, and City of Vancouver 14www.sharewares.ca Example: DeliverZero, NYC 15 80+ restaurant partners in New York City www.deliverzero.com/ Example: Dispatch Goods, USA 16 Saved over 1,304,325 single-use items from entering the waste stream https://dispatchgoods.com/ Reuse works best when the whole ecosystem is in place ➔Many - ideally most - restaurants offer at least one reusable item, ideally as the default option ➔Collection bins, washing infrastructure and logistics in place ➔Clear and consistent signage and behavioral cues for users ➔High volumes of items keep per use costs low and reduce environmental impacts of system Immersive Scale is Key 17 18 MAPPING & ENGAGEMENT Is there interest? Local partners Circularity Assessment Protocol DESIGN PHASE Community Design Workshops Identify community assets Life Cycle Assessment SYSTEM SETUP Establish local entity Secure providers, equipment, space, permits Enroll businesses PRE-LAUNCH Outreach and education campaigns Install and test all equipment Get ready! LAUNCH All systems go! Lots of hands-on support for first several weeks + SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS Monitor system performance Make changes to help the system work better and better over time Our approach 19 Fundamentals of system design ●Cost neutral to users ●Comparable to cost of disposables for businesses ●Self-sustaining program ECONOMIC VIABILITY ●Minimize GHG impact ●High efficiency washing ●High return rates ENVIRONMENTAL VIABILITY ●Safe containers / cups ●High quality assurance washing systems ●Well managed operations TECHNICAL VIABILITY ●Design system for everyone ●Options to use without a smartphone, credit card, or bank accountSOCIAL VIABILITY 20 Perpetual’s role in the process Support cities, community groups and members, and businesses to design the reuse system that will work best for them using a community-driven design process. Bring technical expertise to optimize reuse system design. Mobilize funding for infrastructure and transition costs. Facilitate the selection of reuse service providers to play a role in operating the system. Provide on-the-ground support for system set up and launch. Share best practices and provide tools and templates for other communities to guide the creation of their own systems. 21 22 Our Funders Pending proposals: ●EPA SWIFR Grant for Reuse Infrastructure - $1.5M - Hawai’i County ●EPA REO Grant for Reuse Outreach and Education - $450K ●Multiple foundations: $500K+ ●EPA Pollution Prevention Grant - Hawai’i Sea Grant - $623K ●Hawai’i Community Foundation Aloha ʻĀina - ZWHI - $65K Our Partners Local Partners 23 Program Partners Academic Partners What feedback and insights does EMC have regarding this project? 24 Galveston Community Workshops March 6th-8th ●3 General Community Drop-In Workshops ●Business Breakfast Workshop ●NGO and Community Group Lunch Workshop We were joined by community members, local businesses, local nonprofit organizations, and tourists! Discussion and Questions 26 ●What feedback and insights does EMC have on this project? A few closing questions 28 @perpetualuse perpetualuse.org Engage with us Ellie Moss ellie@perpetualuse.org 29 Thank you! Community engagement fundamentals Prior to design workshops ●Get community members involved in design of workshops ●Get the word out in all relevant languages: local media, social media, partners Make it easy to attend ●Hold workshops in a public space with good transport options ●Varied days/times/duration ●Childcare and food available for all ●Stipends for community members who need it At the workshops ●Interactive and experiential as much as possible ●Many ways to provide input: spoken, written, open form, survey, … ●Provide both in-person and online opportunities to participate