SEATTLE (Recycling Monster): Outstanding results have been achieved by the NextGen Consortium's Petaluma Reusable Cup Project, which aims to encourage reuse throughout the California city and is led by Closed Loop Partners' Center for the Circular Economy in collaboration with partners.

During the three-month trial, around 30 businesses in Petaluma city replaced single-use cups with reusable ones, all at no extra cost to their patrons. Over 22,000 cups were returned during the event, demonstrating the tremendous response from participants.

The program focused on finding and encouraging the adoption of alternatives to single-use packaging, which accounts for a significant amount of trash. An estimated 50 billion single-use cups are disposed of annually in the United States, with the most majority of them ending up in landfills.

The greater than anticipated level of community involvement is the main reason for the program's success. It also saw a rise in cooperation between businesses and nonprofit organizations.

The Petaluma Reusable Cup Project showed an ambitious, creative vision of reuse as an everyday reality, said Carolina Lobel, Senior Director at the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners.