r.World | Reuse

As the Big Game approaches, we’re spotlighting a Big Win for r.World | Reuse and the reuse industry: 25 million single-use cups and foodware items diverted from landfills - a true game-changer! We know from experience that major sports arenas and stadiums - hosting hundreds of thousands to millions of fans each season - are some of the toughest environments to tackle waste, and where reuse delivers its biggest wins. What we’ve learned: venues that commit to reuse at scale are setting a new standard for green sports - while gaining real operational advantages in high-volume environments. That’s why r.World | Reuse focuses on full-venue programs, and getting the right team in place. As a result, we see high return rates, seamless operations, and impact that compounds season after season. Some stats we’re proud of: 🏀🏒🎶 Crypto.com Arena: Together, we’ve diverted 1.5 million single-use items across La Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Sparks, and major special events 🏈 University of California, Berkeley: First US football stadium to go all-in on reuse, diverting 100K+ single-use cups already over just two seasons at California Memorial Stadium ⚾ St. Paul Saints at CHS Field: First-ever reuse in MiLB, with an expanded program planned for 2026 From baseball fields to football stadiums to NASCAR & Grand Prix races to PGA golf greens, reuse is taking over the sports industry. Thank you to every partner, operator, and fan who’s trusted r.World | Reuse, returned a reusable, and helped make reuse mainstream. The next era of green sports is being built now. Let’s go. #Reuse #GreenSports #SportsSustainability #CircularEconomy

🌍 At Trellis, walking the talk matters and as we gear up for GreenBiz 26, we’re proud to spotlight the sustainability programs and partnerships that make this event more than just a conference: they make it part of the solution. Here’s how we’re bringing sustainability to life on and off the stage: ♻️ Reducing waste & advancing reuse with partners like Earthlight.eco (lanyard reuse) and r.World | Reuse (reusable cup stations). We’re also working with venues, vendors, and teams to implement zero-waste exhibitor policies and hit ambitious diversion goals. 🍽️ Designing plant-rich, low-waste meals with Greener by Default and directing surplus food to communities in need via Copia - preventing waste and feeding neighbors. 🌱 Expanding food recovery impact in 2026 through partnerships with Brightly and FoodRecovery.org to grow meals donated and emissions prevented. 🌬️ Measuring & reducing carbon with CNaught (high-quality offsets), TRACE by Isla (event impact calculation), and Evertreen (tree planting). 💧 Restoring water with Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) — contributing millions of gallons back to vital ecosystems in central Oregon. 📊 Tracking impact data with Honeycomb Strategies, helping us measure, learn, and improve across events like GreenBiz and beyond. A huge thank-you to our Trellis sustainability champions Morganne Sigismonti and Jessica Coons for leading the charge and ensuring we hold ourselves accountable every step of the way. 🌱✨ Explore our commitments, partners, and impact here: https://buff.ly/J2nhx6u #GreenBiz26 #Sustainability #EventSustainability

If reuse is on your roadmap, here’s a practical look at how it performs in high-volume environments. In a new article, Packaging World breaks down what r.World | Reuse’s 20+ million milestone (now 23+M) demonstrates: reuse can be embedded into day-to-day operations and perform reliably across high-volume venues, sports and entertainment, campuses, and more. As our founder and CEO Michael Martin shared in the article: “This milestone validates our belief that a better way to tackle waste is possible, one that’s environmentally responsible, operationally successful, and economically viable.” Key takeaways for anyone exploring reuse: ☑️ Easy: Reuse can be as easy as single-use.  ☑️ Operational Fit: Reuse succeeds when it fits into existing operations - not as a pilot or add-on. ☑️ Cost Benefit: Some reuse systems, including r.World | Reuse’s, eliminate upfront inventory investment - removing a common barrier to adoption. ☑️ Revenue Benefit: Reuse can improve economics. r.World | Reuse has measured 2–3% higher per-head sales, driven by smoother service and guest experience. ☑️ Execution Support: r.World | Reuse provides early, consistent training that leads to higher return rates and smoother execution. Another critical factor is durability. While r.World | Reuse cups are designed for 300+ uses, many far exceed that. Some cups first deployed in 2019 are still in circulation today, approaching 1,000 uses. If you’re looking for a clear, operator-level primer on reuse in action, the full article is worth a read: https://lnkd.in/e2PXqtek #Reuse #Systems #Operations #Sustainability #LiveEvents

In a recent feature from Packaging World, “r.World | Reuse Cracks the Code on Waste at Live Events,” our founder & CEO Michael Martin reflects on decades spent trying to reduce waste in some of the most challenging environments imaginable: stadiums, arenas, and festivals. After years of working to make recycling and composting succeed at scale, one hard truth became impossible to ignore: in high-volume event settings, most single-use items still end up in landfill. Also problematic: oftentimes, contamination, mis-sorting, limited downstream access, and operational complexity undermine even well-intentioned systems. Those realities led to a pivotal shift in thinking: reuse is the only waste reduction solution that reliably performs under high-volume real-world conditions. Key learnings from the journey: ➡️ Keep it simple. If the system is easy, people participate. That’s how we consistently see 90%+ return rates at large live events. ➡️ Design matters. Remove the reason to take a cup home - like a logo or event name - and return rates take care of themselves. ➡️ Infrastructure, not pilots. Reuse only works when it’s run like a real service, with washing, tracking, and redeployment built in from day one. ➡️ Reuse reduces costs. When reuse is designed to repeat and scale, it outperforms single-use on both economics and impact. As Michael puts it: “We think about reduce, reuse, recycle. That’s in order of priority. We need to get people thinking about moving up to reuse from recycle.” For anyone re-examining waste management strategies in high-volume environments, the article offers a candid look at what hasn’t worked, and what finally does (hint: reuse). Read the full piece here: https://lnkd.in/gj3M8SUq #Reuse #WasteManagement #LiveEvents #Sustainability #Leadership

🎸 U2’s The Edge applauds r.World | Reuse’s reusable cup solution Reusable foodware provider r.World reports it has prevented 20 million single-use cups and foodware items from going to landfill through reuse programs at live events, campuses, and corporate locations. “Eliminating 20 million single-use items is irrefutable proof reuse at scale is achievable, profitable, and impactful,” says Michael Martin, founder and CEO of r.World. The milestone reflects a system built around local wash hubs, durable reusable cups and foodware designed for hundreds of uses, and data-driven tracking that reports waste, water, energy, and carbon savings. r.World says it now washes about 1 million cups per month. U2 was among the artists that pioneered the solution with r.World. “From launching reuse on the Joshua Tree tour in 2017 to seeing r.World now surpass 20 million single-use items diverted, we’ve witnessed the idea grow into an industry-changing solution,” says The Edge, guitarist for U2. “Reuse is innovation in action.” Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gA8Dghkj #reusablepackaging #reuse #sustainablepackaging #circulareconomy #circularpackaging

Exclusive interview: r.World | Reuse’s Michael Martin Cracks the Code on Reusable Packaging at Live Events   After spending decades trying to make recycling and composting work at live events, Michael Martin, founder and CEO of r.World Reuse, reached a hard truth: most of it still ends up in landfill.   “I introduced recycling to live events in 1990 and spent the next 25 years trying to make it work,” Martin says. “It’s a dirty little secret of the live event industry that, while they have recycling bins and compost bins, 90% of it goes to landfill.” In an exclusive interview with Packaging World, Martin shares how that realization led him to pioneer reusable foodware systems that now serve entertainment venues, campuses, and corporations and have helped divert more than 20 million single-use cups from landfill. The conversation goes beyond vision to the realities of making reuse work at scale: ·     Why behavior change matters more than materials ·     How “ugly” cups outperform souvenir cups ·     What it takes operationally to wash, track, and redeploy cups millions of times ·     Why reuse can reduce costs, not just waste “We think about reduce, reuse, recycle,” Martin says. “That’s an order of priority, and we need to get people thinking about moving to reuse from recycle.” Read the exclusive interview here: https://lnkd.in/gj3M8SUq #reusablepackaging #reuse #circularpackaging #circulareconomy #packaging

Real progress happens when reuse systems work in the real world - and when partners commit for the long haul. Since launching their r.World | Reuse program, Santa Barbara Bowl has eliminated about HALF A MILLION single-use cups from its waste stream. As Eric Shiflett, Program Director at the Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation, shared: “Over the past two concert seasons, the r.World | Reuse program has eliminated nearly 500,000 single-use plastic cups from the Santa Barbara Bowl’s waste stream. That’s a huge win for sustainability and a clear indication that a circular-reuse system is effective. We are 100% committed to this long-term partnership and hope our success inspires other concert promoters and venues to adopt r.Cup. It’s a practical, audience-friendly solution that makes a measurable difference.” We’re deeply grateful to Eric and the entire Santa Barbara Bowl team for their leadership, trust, and long-term commitment. Partnerships like this are what move reuse from idea to infrastructure, and help set a powerful example for venues everywhere. #Reuse #CircularEconomy #Sustainability #LiveEvents

As 2025 comes to a close, one thing is clear: reuse has moved from possibility to practice. Across the U.S., we saw reuse systems shift from pilots to permanent infrastructure - embedded into stadiums, arenas, festivals, campuses, hotels, and cities. At r.World | Reuse, that momentum showed up in exciting and tangible ways: ➡️ Together with our partners, we’ve diverted 22 million single-use items from landfills since our launch, with more than one-third of the impact happening THIS YEAR ALONE ➡️ 130+ tons of plastic prevented ➡️ Reuse operating reliably at high volume, in complex, real-world environments ➡️ Growing alignment across venues, operators, brands, policymakers, and fans Perhaps most importantly, 2025 reinforced a simple truth: when reuse is easy, visible, and built into the experience, it scales. Looking ahead, 2026 isn’t just another year. It’s shaping up to be the Year of Reuse, when infrastructure, policy, economics, and consumer demand begin to fully converge. We’re grateful to the partners, collaborators, and communities helping push this work forward, and excited for what comes next. Onward to 2026. We’re ready for the Year of Reuse! #ReuseSystems #CircularEconomy #WasteReduction #SystemsChange

Happy Holidays from r.World | Reuse! As 2025 comes to a close, we’re feeling grateful. This year, as awareness of the environmental and health benefits of reuse went mainstream, reuse moved from early momentum to everyday reality across stadiums, festivals, venues, campuses, and communities nationwide. Thank you to our partners, operators, and music & sports fans for building this movement with us. From everyone at r.World | Reuse, we’re wishing you a merry & bright holiday season. Cheers to carrying the momentum forward, together. 2026, here we come! #Reuse #CircularEconomy #SustainableEvents #YearOfReuse #HappyHolidays

Big signal for the reuse movement → and for what comes next. Pew's new “Breaking the Plastic Wave 2025” report reinforces what r.World | Reuse, operators, venues, and communities are proving every day: reuse works at scale, drives down waste, and delivers real economic value. One point stands out clearly: meaningful plastic reduction won’t come from optimizing single-use systems. It will come from replacing them. The report shows that: • Systemwide reuse models can reduce plastic packaging pollution by up to 66% • Recycling alone can’t deliver the reductions needed to protect human or environmental health • Cities and large venues are emerging as proving grounds for scalable reuse systems • Policy, infrastructure, and public demand are beginning to align For those of us operating reuse systems on the ground, this reflects a shift already underway. As reuse moves from pilot to default, the work becomes less about intent - and more about infrastructure, behavior design, and durability at scale. That’s why the next phase of reuse won’t be driven by one-off solutions, but by systems built to perform in real-world conditions. The momentum behind reuse is accelerating. 2026 is shaping up to be a defining year for how quickly these systems become standard across the U.S. 📄 Full report linked in comments. #ReuseSystems #CircularEconomy #WasteReduction #PlasticPollution #SystemsChange