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A mountainous trash bin on a street in Boston. I've seen similar situations far too often. So, serious question here. This is something that I think about ALL THE TIME and I finally have to ask all of my fellow coffee drinkers out there. What would it take YOU to actually stop using disposable coffee cups and regularly use a reusable cup instead?   ☕ Would it be coffee shops simply not offering disposable cups?  ☕ Would it be a bigger discount if you bring your own cup?  ☕ Would it be an upcharge by coffee shops if you get a disposable cup?  ☕ Would it be a law that says coffee shops can't use disposable cups?  ☕ Would it be if disposable cups said phrases like, "I like waste." or "I'm a trashy human." or "This cup is harmful to my health."  ☕ Something else? I recently went into yet another coffee shop that has a bin with various holes for recycling and trash (ah hem, Starbucks ). I saw the barista take the bags out back and when she came back in, I asked, "Do all of the trash and recycling bags just go in the same dumpster?" Not surprisingly, the answer was, "Yes." So, even when customers think they're doing something good, they're not. What are the reasons that I've heard from the numerous coffee shops and restaurants that I've seen do this? "The landlord doesn't pay for a recycling pickup." OR "The customers don't put the right things in each bin." Even given the options, customers regularly just put trash and recycling in both. Why would any business spend money on making people feel better about their choices, only to throw it all away? Whatever the reason, it's more reminders that no matter how easy recycling is made, the reality of things actually being recycled is very low. There was that great example about Starbucks at the end of 2024 about this . So, what's the solution? Encourage Reuse! As consumers, WE have a lot of power. We can bring our own dang mugs! When we choose to reuse, we know exactly where the reusables are going and the impact it's making. It's not wishcycling and hoping everyone in a chain does the right thing. WE can do the right thing. But again, what's it gonna take for people to actually do this? For me, I made the decision over 17 years ago that I would not drink coffee out of a disposable cup anymore.  ☕ I hated seeing discarded styrofoam cups in the streets.   ☕ Hot drinks tasted differently in plastic lined "paper' cups.  ☕ I liked saving money by getting a discount.  ☕ I liked the stainless steel cup that I had.  ☕ I wanted to be an example. Below is the impact that my 17 years of reusing coffee cups has made. All of this said, I'd love to work with coffee shops, individuals, and organizations who are OR want to do more to promote reusable coffee cups. Reach out. Let's talk. COMMENT SECTION BELOW

A Competitor for Clothing Sales? No. A Collaborator for Change. A few years ago, I was at one of the numerous vegan events where I sell my STAY VOCAL reuse clothing. In the corner of the room, I saw a massive display of various vegan and animal rights themed T-Shirts. While I was impressed and thought so many of the designs were really cool, I haven't bought new shirts since 2007. But with the wild array of retro 80s and 90s themes and slogans I aligned with, I couldn't just avoid the booth. As we were fellow vendors at numerous events, I got to be friendly with the woman behind the Vegan Power Co. booth, Alicia Perkins. Alicia would also stop by my booth and geek out at my vintage trading card magnets. And she would talk about how she loved the reuse mission and wanted to do more eco friendly things with her brand. That got me thinking. She wasn't just another vendor. What I've learned countless times is that when you're trying to make actual positive change in this world, don't let competition come into play. Collaboration is key. That's why over the past few years, Alicia and I have teamed up for rescue bandanas for animals, 1 of a Kind REUSE! T-Shirts to benefit animals affected by the fires in Los Angeles, and now we're getting ready for a full on reuse cover up T-Shirt release. The more we work together, the more positive change we can actually create; for people, for our planet, and for animals. OK, here's Alicia. 1. You have a very specific style and color pallet with your designs. Could you talk about where you draw your inspiration from and why? I love 80s & 90s nostalgia - particularly the logos, typography & design aesthetic of that era! Just a fan of bold, saturated color in general. I like to "wear my personality out loud" haha!  Alicia found a perfect 1 of a Kind REUSE! Tee for her style, but her daughter has since taken it over. 2. Besides veganism and animal rights, you feature different messages in your designs. Could you talk about what inspires you to use your platform to start those conversations? I see ALL issues of oppression and liberation as interconnected. We can't stand for the rights of one marginalized group without seeking justice for all who suffer under oppression. Animal rights are often the gateway for folks to understand that the same systems of oppression that exist to commodify animal bodies & profit from their exploitation are the same systems that seek to limit rights of women, POC, queer and trans folks, disabled people, the poor, etc etc. We are united in this way and we can't talk about liberation for one without liberation for all. We all have a responsibility to use whatever platform we have to speak out against injustices of all kinds. Otherwise we are just willing participants in an ethically bankrupt charade of capitalism. One of Alicia's more self-explanatory shirts. 3. OK. I can't not ask you a question about food. I know that we both love traveling and visiting restaurants. We also have both spent a lot of time on the east and west coasts, where you live now. So, here's a hyper specific question about food. What's a restaurant that you've visited who does a good job at cutting down on waste and how? I always gravitate towards places that take a more farm-to-table approach and tailor their menus to what is more local & seasonally available. It's fresher, more delicious, more cost-efficient and of course, eating local (and vegan) cuts back on transportation emissions & other waste associated with importing all your ingredients. My #1 life-changing experience of this though was just recently in Iceland at a place called Fri∂heimar tomato farm. It's a family owned and operated farm that harnesses geothermal heat in greenhouses to grow tomatoes and other produce year round. Guests learn about their innovations in sustainability while dining on a tomato-centric food and drink menu amongst the tomato plants!  Alicia inside one of the greenhouses at Fri∂heimar tomato farm and one of the dishes they prepare. 4. So, while I'm certainly a solutions guy, we do have to address the problems. Where do you see the most waste in your daily life? As a small business vendor I witness first-hand the amount of waste created at vegan festivals and street markets. Some festival organizations do a better job of mitigating this than others, but we all, vendors and patrons alike, myself included, can do a LOT better when it comes to reducing single use items and better "planning ahead" when it comes to circumventing opportunities for waste. For example, I've cultivated habits of bringing my reusable bottles/coffee cup/metal straw/reusable bags/etc most places I go, but just recently we had dinner together and it absolutely blew my mind that you brought a reusable container with you for leftovers! Like, you can DO THAT?! At a restaurant?! Why had this very simple step never occurred to me before? It was a very A-HA moment for me. I think a lot of unintentional waste is just like this. Sometimes the ways we can reduce waste aren't immediately obvious and it takes a "spark" from a more seasoned-reuser, haha. Then it just takes a little more planning and cultivating better habits over time.  An update to Alicia's booth is her "Be Kind Rewind Finds" rack of vintage and secondhand pieces. 5. In your personal experience, how do you think recycling has worked and NOT worked as a solution to waste? I'm not super educated on this but I was floored to recently find out that only a fraction of what we put in recycling bins actually gets recycled. So the concept of recycling can't be the "excuse" or catch-all for us to keep carrying on as we have, waste-wise.  6. How do you think the U.S. could step up the solutions to our waste problem? Have you seen or heard of anything anywhere else? Again, I'm not super well-versed in this area but I recently spent time in both the UK and Iceland and experienced how differently they handle consumption and waste. It is ingrained in their culture. For example, in Iceland there were almost zero single use items at all - everything is served on real cups and plates. But that also comes with a cultural expectation that you stop and take time to sit and enjoy your coffee, etc. It's SO unlike the American hustle culture, that creates single-use waste as a byproduct of this on-the-go mentality. Also portion sizes in Iceland and the UK are a lot more "realistic" so we found ourselves with less opportunity to waste, etc. This is just one example of the interplay of cultural differences with waste-reducing practices.  7. It's funny. I always tell people that reusing is nothing new. It’s been going on long before we were here. Do you have any memories of your parents or grandparents reusing in unique ways? Of course, they existed long before fast-fashion and this notion that everything was disposable. You actually mended clothes that had holes or tears! Repaired shoes whose soles had broken. Tailored clothes that didn't fit. These are almost lost practices. Also, every jar and container was reused for storage of other food or items. This was before "Tupperware parties" and plastic containers made for the sole purpose of storage really caught on. Everything really shifted with my parents' (boomer) generation with the rise of all of these convenience-oriented products and practices. As a result, our generation was raised with a different, more wasteful mindset. A lot of my adult life has been about questioning and undoing some of these bad habits that until recently we just blindly accepted as the way our parents did things.  One of Alicia's favorite repurposed items - a vintage bike basket mounted in the bathroom for extra storage. 8. Do you have any notable stories about saving money on something because you bought it used instead of new? Absolutely. When I became a parent, it really hit home how temporary some of our needs for certain "stuff" are and nothing drives that point home more than a fast growing baby, haha! How silly to keep buying new clothing that they will outgrow in a few weeks or months. And all the books, toys, and gear that is needed for one stage of a child's development but then quickly bypassed. I really discovered the incredible value of hand-me-downs, buying from kids-specific second-hand shops & utilizing amazing local communities like Buy Nothing groups.  9. Have you ever taken anything out of the recycling bin or trash to reuse somehow or maybe found something on the side of the road? Absolutely. Some of my favorite furniture & decor items were road-side treasure, haha! We also joke that when our daughter was young, she never needed toys just random junk from the recycling bin that she would repurpose for art supplies and building creations. It's no surprise that she is a HUGE fan of the Box Truck film and your work, Alex. I have a lot of hope for this generation of kiddos.  Some of Alicia's favorite roadside finds: the red storage unit and vintage Halloween decor. With her love for all things spooky, Alicia of course leaves those up year-round. 10. And lastly, what’s the best thing that you ever got used and why? Got a photo? I have a fire-engine red refurbished 1960s tanker desk in my office. I'm using it right now as I write this, haha! Alicia's 1960s metal tanker desk in her office. Notice any vintage trading card magnets? To learn more about Alicia and her brand, check out the Vegan Power Co. website. To order one of the bandanas like Alicia is holiding in her profile photo, head over to the STAY VOCAL shop. Stay Tuned! Alicia and I have another STAY VOCAL collaboration coming real soon... COMMENT SECTION BELOW

Last week, my dad passed away. Fortunately, there were many members of our family with him. And coincidentally that afternoon, his cousin's daughter had emailed me this photo from my recent talk at her high school in New Hampshire. The photo on the screen is me as a kid doing a jigsaw puzzle with my dad. There has already been a tornado of thoughts and feelings in my head and not everything has processed. I guess you're never really prepared to lose a parent. But there is one thing that is floating around constantly (and why I'm writing this post on my work website). The person I have become and my work with reuse is a deeply conscious and simultaneously subconscious result of my dad's lifestyle. And while I didn't always recognize them at the time, I'm quite thankful for all of the opportunities that my dad gave me. My dad loved flea markets and yard sales. I grew up in a house where repair was the norm. Things were regularly brought back from the local dumps. There was always a planned project for something that he set aside. For a myriad of reasons, my dad unfortunately couldn't finish all of his projects. This certainly gave me the drive for finishing my own and also sharing the importance of reuse with others. I've known that the education component has been a part of my calling, but I realize now, that's also a way that I can honor my dad and his legacy. With each day that goes by, I'm realizing more and more that we don't need to hold on to the items to hold on to the memories. Items are just reminders and they can be anywhere. It's truly more about the places that we went and the things that we did. I know this situation is certainly going to influence my work in various ways as time goes on. But for now, I've slowed down and become more present with my family. I sense this moment is another chapter beginning for all of us. ~~~+++~~~

Observing From The Outside and Inspiring Change from The Inside Back in the late 1990s, I ran a street promotions company in Boston; mainly for record companies and their artists. One of our main tactics to promote albums was putting up poster boards around phone poles in high traffic areas. And one of the bands that we worked for was Pilfers, a ska/punk/reggae band from New York. In 1999, the band came to Boston to play a show at one of the clubs near Fenway Park. I wanted to make a big splash for them, so my team and I put up a ton of posters along the entire street. When the band showed up, they were stoked. It was like a giant welcoming party with posters lining the street. Unfortunately, though, the local authorities weren't equally as happy. They threatened to charge the band a fine for each poster and since I had gone a little crazy, it was going to be around a $20,000 fine! Fortunately, it all got sorted out by the band and venue and I think we had to take some (or all) of them down. But as the saying goes, any press is good pres. The band loved it, especially the singer, Coolie Ranx, and a friendship was born. In the winter of 2000, I had one of those moments that I'll always remember. I was in an Ocean State Job lot shopping with my mom and luckily, I was an early adopter of cell phones. I got a call from Coolie and he asked me if I wanted to be the band's new merch guy and go on tour with them for 2 months... leaving in 2 days! Without much deliberation, I said yes. And it was one of the best decisions that I ever made. Later that day, my mom took me to a Circuit City, where I got my first laptop (one of the only new ones I've bought), and I was ready to hit the road with the band. Talking about one of the shirts I sold on tour when I gave it away a decade ago. On that tour, Coolie took me under his wing in various ways and those experiences started a whole chain of events of me touring around the world doing merch for bands. I'm so glad that I could stay connected with him over the years. And while our worlds are seperate these days, all I need to do is put on a Pilfers song or video and be transported back to those important times in my life. Alright, let's meet Coolie. 1. So, when I was working for Pilfers, we had a few items at the merch booth that were printed on pre-owned garments; like gas station shirts and imperfect blank basketball jerseys from Champion. Why do you think these were so popular at that time in the punk and ska scene? Have they made a comeback at all? At the time, it was accessible, comfortable clothing that we made the fabric of the scene for the simple. We carved out a fashion of the day, which hails from the rockabilly scene. The first time I ever saw these type shirts was on "Happy Days," the tv show. In Pilfers world, basketball jerseys will always be fashionable. Sadly enough, the basketball jerseys are made overseas and the outlets we used to go to no longer exist. The gas station workman's shirts haven't made a resurgence yet, but they will for sure. I took this photo of Coolie and Nick from Pilfers in 2000 with a one man band that we met on tour. Coolie's wearing one of the Pilfers jerseys printed on a discarded, blank Detroit Pistons jersey. 2. With your music and your online presence, you have certainly not been quiet about your beliefs and politics. Could you talk about what has inspired you to use your platform to start those conversations?  I'm a first generation illegal-turned-legal immigrant. My views have always been one of an outsider looking in; not comparing anything to anything, just being able to be objective. I loved history growing up and enjoyed the stories of civil rights told by the older folks on the block: Vietnam vets and just people I would come in contact with. I experienced racism and injustice at an early age of 9. I saw how quickly life could be turned upside down for me in mere seconds for being the wrong shade of color. I was picked up from my stoop in front of my family home and brought to the hospital for an impromptu line up where a man was injured and paraded in front of him. He determined that I was not the person who assaulted him. The cops didn't ask or inform my parents; just took me off my stoop. Life could have been different if he decided anyone could pay for his injury. Many more incidents, but it's too long to write. One of the vintage Pilfers shirts printed on used work shirts. 3. Since I stopped touring years ago, I haven't visited a lot of venues around the country like I used to. Have there been any positive sustainability changes that you've seen?  I would say, Alex, things haven't changed much. No healthy choices are readily available for musicians, as dietary supplements go. Although cigarette smoking isn't a thing anymore. 4. So, while I'm certainly a solutions guy, we do have to address the problems. Where do you see the most waste in your daily life? I would just start with the food industry. The laws providing homeless people food are archaic at best. You can be arrested for giving people food, while the industry discards tons of food daily. I donated several of my coats last year to my nieces church. I have just two winter coats. Mind you, I have had most of my coats for over 15 years. A mini-reunion of my first tour when I saw Pilfers play with J. Navarro & the Traitors in Boston. 5. In your personal experience, how do you think recycling has worked and NOT worked as a solution to waste?  Well, I can tell you as a person who recycles religiously in our home, the waste can be used to make other products and not clog up and poison the earth's airs, lands and waters. Recycling is like a natural process like growing food. You plant, you eat, you plant again, you throw the remnants back into the soil. You wear, you outgrow, you recycle, you break down the material into something else and the clothes are reborn again.  6. It's funny. I always tell people that reusing is nothing new. It’s been going on long before we were here. Do you have any memories of your parents or grandparents reusing in unique ways?  Actually, my mum in England always composts, bought old bikes, fixed them up for us, and we were taught to sew holes in our clothes. The phrase, "Waste not, Want not," was common in the house. Coolie with his mom, brother, and family friends using some of those old bikes that she fixed up. 7. Do you have any notable stories about saving money on something because you bought it used instead of new? Ok, so I look for the open-items in Home Depot, as I know they'll throw them out. I actually make it a mission to seek out the open items. I buy my salt for the pavements, I buy cement  and sand to pave the sidewalk, I buy tiles, I buy broken plaster. It's just my thing, because I know for sure it's discount time.  At the end of the day, they'll discard them. 8. Have you ever taken anything out of the recycling bin or trash to reuse somehow or maybe found something on the side of the road? Funny you say that. I dumpster-dive in my old area, it's a college town and have found tables and chairs that have followed me to my new home. A table that Coolie found on the side of the road in his neighborhood near Fordham University. Every year, students leave giant piles of possessions for the trash pickup. Fortunately, a lot of it gets rescued from neighbors. The old Alex in me wants to put a big Pilfers sticker on it. To learn more about Coolie and listen to Pilfers' music, connect with Coolie on Instagram or check out the Pilfers Bandcamp. To order a One of a Kind REUSE! T-Shirt like Coolie is wearing in his profile photo, head over to the STAY VOCAL One of a Kind Gallery. COMMENT SECTION BELOW

Today, I'd like to announce one of our new partners: An Eco Organized Approach Located in Stoughton, Massachusetts (where The REUSE! Box Truck was built), An Eco Organized Approach "is the premium solution for individuals seeking to organize your home or business, reclaim sanity, and create function out of chaos." Mary Ellen Lundy, the founder of An Eco Organized Approach, is not only helping people organize their home, but also purge clutter to help her clients escape wasted time, money, and stress. She helps people get their unwanted items to people in their community; even items that they think would have no use. The more Mary Ellen and her team can keep out of the landfill, the better. One thing that we obviously agree on is that there's just one planet and we need to do our best to protect it. Mary Ellen (right) packing things at a house cleanout. (Photo c/o anecoorganizedapproach.com ) Mary Ellen and Deek have actually known each other for years. He's helped her with house clean outs in the past and attended her annual "free" yard sale with items that she has collected throughout the year. This is such a cool concept. Once a donation has been made to the local food pantry, people are welcome to "shop" for free. All this said, it really was time to make this relationship official! 🚚 🤝 🗂️ Mary Ellen showing Deek a very unique, vintage wine bottle at a recent house clean out. Mary Ellen's logo is featured on the movie screen side of the box truck and will be seen by the thousands of people that tour the truck this year. Head over to the An Eco Organized Approach website to learn more and maybe book an appointment for yourself. 🤝🤝🤝 If you or your organization is interested in partnering with the Escape The Waste team, we've got some spots left. Email me here.

The recent launch of dyed STAY VOCAL shirts at Glaze Handmade in Stonington, CT. Years ago, I acquired a lot of white T-Shirts from a company that went out of business. And as anyone who owns a white T-Shirt can guess, white tees are especially tough to keep clean in inventory. So, over the years, I've been setting aside numerous unworn STAY VOCAL shirts that were stained or discolored in a storage container marked, "To Be Tie Dyed." I didn't want the shirts to go to waste and I knew the dye would make all of those discolorations just blend in with the pattern. Small discolorations are an eyesore on a white shirt, but become just part of a dyed shirt's pattern. I knew the day would come when I would meet the right local(ish) person to dye the shirts. Well, recently my friend Lyndsay from Glaze Handmade connected me with two of the right people in Eastern Connecticut; both doing different styles of dyeing. Indigo Dyed STAY VOCAL Tees These shirts are a collaboration with Loria Dziedzic of Fiber and Mud , a small batch indigo dyer in Pachaug, Connecticut. The designs were originally printed on blank white and light blue garments and the shirts were then dyed with indigo to hide discolorations. Indigo is a natural dye obtained from the leaves of some plants of the Indigofera genus. Shop the Indigo Dyed STAY VOCAL Collection Here Ice Dyed STAY VOCAL Tees These shirts are a collaboration with Casey Brennan of Hide Sustle in Stonington, Connecticut. The designs were originally printed on mostly white garments and the shirts were then ice dyed with various colors to hide discolorations. Ice dyeing is a process where powder dye is sprinkled on top of (or under) ice cubes with a shirt at the bottom. Shop the Ice Dyed STAY VOCAL Collection Here I was definitely stoked when I picked all of the shirts up at Glaze last week. Before, these were shirts that looked ruined and I felt like I had wasted money and resources. Now, they look rad and I'm excited to see them on people. I'm already setting aside the next batch too.

Teaching Life Lessons and Lessons from Her Life When thinking about Earth Day and Earth Month, I got thinking about the two mothers who I would not exist without: Mother Earth and of course, my mom. So, I thought it would seem fitting to interview the woman responsible for me being on Earth. After graduating from college, my mom was a full-time teacher at public schools. But once my older siblings and I came along, she stopped teaching to focus on her children. I remember my mom teaching us all sorts of things at home, but the golden rules definitely stand out: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." "You are what you eat." Those are definitely quotes that I have taken into adulthood with the lifestyles that I lead. I also had the awkward experience of having my mom teach me in the traditional sense, when she was my substitute teacher a few times in junior high and high school. Fortunately, my friends were kind. I've also learned lessons from my mom about reusing, while it wasn't always obvious that's what the lesson was about. She has always been determined to fix items over and over, until she truly needs to buy a replacement. That certainly continues, as she is still the go-to for mending clothes in our family. Just recently, I finally gave up on a pair of jeans that she had fixed at least half a dozen times and got a new pre-owned pair. My mom's determination to keep items from falling apart truly mirrors her determination to keep her family from falling apart. And she has certainly succeeded. While my mom hasn't taught in schools for years, her teaching certainly hasn't stopped. With her 13 grandchildren (and any day now about to be two great-grandchildren), she's had plenty of opportunity to teach them everything from traditional school subjects to sewing to how to be a better human. OK, here's my mom. My mom and I at the REUSE! Documentary premiere. 1. So, for many years you were a teacher. What made you want to become an educator? I loved kids and enjoyed teaching Sunday school. 2. During your years of teaching, were you able to incorporate any reuse ideas in your classroom? I would use both sides of drawing paper, use crayons until there wasn't enough to hold and collect crayon pieces to melt them at home for projects. Paperback workbooks were not written in, as answers were just on lined paper so that workbooks could be reused every every year. I also got arts and crafts supplies from the free bins that I visited at the Children's Museum in Jamaica Plain, Boston. My mom getting some free arts and crafts supplies at the Children's Museum in 1978. 3. Considering the years that you were a student, the years you were a teacher and now seeing your grandchildren as students, how have schools become more or less wasteful? Markers are used, it seems, more than crayons and they can't be reused once they dry up. I've noticed that workbooks are written in instead of copies of pages on paper and therefore need to be repurchased for the following year. On the plus side, the use of computers and doing things online does save a lot of paper. 4. So, while I'm certainly a solutions guy, we do have to address the problems. Where do you see the most waste in your daily life. In the summer, I purchase water in small plastic bottles to be used by my grandchildren when they come to visit to swim in my pool. The reason for this being I don't want anything glass to be used around the pool or anything that I have to wash in the dishwasher because I have a 20 ft deep well that draws from groundwater. And in extreme heat, the supply of water to my well can be extremely scarce and a few times nonexistent. My well has dried up! At one point, my neighbor had to supply me with water through his garden hose connected to my outside spigot for three months! All plastic bottles are collected and recycled. This makes me want to figure out a better solution for my mom this summer... A Mother's Day gift that I made for my mom. 5. In your personal experience, how do you think recycling has worked and NOT worked as a solution to waste? It seems to me that recycling plastic, cans and bottles has certainly kept these items out of the landfill and hopefully the ocean and reprocessed to have a new life in some form or another. The not working part is when people just toss recyclable items into the trash out of pure laziness and not wanting to take the time to separate. 6. How do you think the U.S. could step up the solutions to our waste problem? Have you seen or heard of anything anywhere else? Reusing as much as possible: composting, repairing items of clothing, furniture, and mechanical and electronic items. And the list goes on. If something has outlived its usefulness to you, it can be donated or parts of an item may be recycled or reused in another way. Local online marketplaces advertise people's items for sale that in previous years have just been tossed out. My mom wearing one of her many sewing jobs for STAY VOCAL. She has always been a good sport about taking and being in photos. 7. It's funny. I always tell people that reusing is nothing new. It’s been going on long before we were here. Do you have any memories of your parents or grandparents reusing in unique ways? Cloth diapers, cloth sanitary products, clothes sewn at home and passed down from one kid to the next, reusing, frozen food packages instead of an ice pack, holes in socks mended, shoes taken to a cobbler to be resoled...etc, etc My mom in the mid 1940s, wearing her father's Christening gown that he wore in 1890 and his sister wore in 1880! 8. Do you have any notable stories about saving money on something because you bought it used instead of new? My parents' first car in the 1960's was handed down from a family member. It was 1950 Chevy Bel Air. When we finally got a new used car, a 1961 Oldsmobile Skylark, we donated the '50 Chevy to the vocational school in Quincy for use in their section for learning about car parts and repair. My grandparents' 1950 Chevy Bel Air and 1961 Oldsmobile Skylark. Fun Fact: My mom inherited the license plate from the Bel Air and still uses the number today! My first car in 1966 was a wrecked 1960 Ford station wagon that was bought at a junkyard and rehabbed using parts from a discontinued used police car and various other used parts. When we put an addition on our house in Norwell, we used perfectly good windows that had been discarded by a construction company. The large Play House for my kids in the back yard was from all used materials too. My parents getting into that Frankenstein of a 1960 Ford station wagon. A piece of our fallen childhood Play House door was used as a canvas for a memory of the home that my mom sold a few years ago. 9. Have you ever taken anything out of the recycling bin or trash to reuse somehow or maybe found something on the side of the road? Many times! A dining room table from the Cohasset dump, wicker kitchen chairs from the Hingham dump, and countless times digging into my recycle bag to pull out a cover or a jar or a plastic container that I needed for some food item or store something in. When my kids were little, we went to the Children's Museum in Boston that had a reuse room of all kinds of little items (thread spools, corks, swizzle sticks etc,) that you could use for arts and crafts. I would bag up a bunch of stuff to use with my kids at home, just like I had done when I was teaching fourth grade in Quincy. Who would ever know that this dining room table came from a dump? Tablecloths work magic. 10. And lastly, what’s the best thing that you ever got used and why? Got a photo? My house.... significant, as it was the first major purchase on my own!! It was 80+years old and is 100 years old this year! The back of my mom's house in 1935 and the front in 2025. To order one of the REUSE! Box Truck T-Shirts like my mom is wearing in her profile photo, head over to the STAY VOCAL shop. COMMENT SECTION BELOW

I know that many of us have said or heard this a lot and I know to others, it just sounds annoying, but seriously, Earth Day needs to be every day. Some people celebrate Halloween for the whole month of October. Some people celebrate Christmas for the whole month of December. But Earth Day isn't just a holiday. It's about celebrating the thing that allows us all to exist. Without a healthy planet, we would have no holidays. We would have no days.  And I'm not saying that we need to be out there wearing green outfits, planting trees, hosting beach cleanups and biking to solar-powered repair cafes every day. I'm just saying that the affects on our shared planet NEED to be considered for the daily choices that we make. Because if we disregard the thing that allows us all to exist, we simply risk our own future and the future of generations to come.

Today, I'd like to announce one of our new partners: The Vegan Potter. Located in Southeastern Connecticut, Lyndsay Dean (AKA The Vegan Potter) has been combining her passion for pottery, animals, and the planet for over 3 decades. She creates ethical stoneware pottery that is made to last. And with her slogans and designs, her pieces serve as a vessel and a voice for positive change. Lyndsay has quite the resume too, including working for The Jane Goodall Institute in Canada. And Lyndsay doesn't just make pottery, she also teaches classes for all ages at her studio & retail shop, Glaze Handmade in Stonington, CT. Lyndsay at work in her studio and retail shop, Glaze Handmade, in Stonington, CT Over the past few years, I became good friends with Lyndsay and her incredibly talented drummer of a husband, Matt. She and I have been vendors at numerous events around New England together and she has become a big supporter of my work with reuse. As I grew to love her unique pottery creations, I asked her if there was any way to make pottery with used materials. I always thought you could somehow melt down broken pieces or something, but that was not the case. Lyndsay was determined to figure something out for my reuse lifestyle, though, as we both wanted me drinking coffee out of one of her mugs. And she did! She made a special collection of mugs with discarded clay from pieces that she collected over time in a bucket. And the glaze is a mystery color that came to be with all of the excess glaze from her brushes and containers. With all of our connections and collaborations, it really was time to make this relationship official! 🚚 🤝 ☕ The Vegan Potter logo will be featured on the movie screen side of the box truck and will be seen by the thousands of people that tour the truck this year. Deek and I with our official mugs for The REUSE! Box Truck; custom designs by me, everything else by The Vegan Potter. To really make our partnership official, I visited Lyndsay's studio a few weeks ago and helped design a whole new batch of the mugs. And this Friday, I will be stopping by Lyndsay's studio with the box truck for an event to launch the mugs! Check out the event details and learn more about Lyndsay's work here. 🤝🤝🤝 If you or your organization is interested in partnering with the Escape The Waste team, we've got some spots left. Email me here.

My recent stock from Supply Bulk Foods going into the box truck. When I came back to Massachusetts in the 2010s after living in Northern California, I found shopping for bulk foods not as easy, especially where I'm from on the South Shore. I was able to find a few places though, like Whole Foods, where I could fill my jars with some staples like coffee, peanut butter, and oatmeal. After the pandemic, many of these places unfortunately stopped letting me bring in my own jars. Luckily, I travel a lot and stock up at places with hundreds of bulk options like Honest Weight, in Albany, New York. But it certainly would be great if there was an option around the South Shore. Well, there actually is. A couple of years ago, I got an email from a woman wanting to make sustainable T-Shirts for her business; a dry bulk foods delivery service! While she was a friend of a friend, I had no idea that Supply Bulk Foods existed and was I excited to learn more. Alys Myers and I connected, we learned more about each other's work, and we got her reuse shirts made. Alys with her first batch of Supply / STAY VOCAL reuse T-Shirts. With the lack of bulk food shopping in Massachusetts, it was great to see that Supply delivers to various locations around the eastern part of the state. So, you don't have to worry about driving to a distant location every time. For me, it's fortunate that one of the delivery spots is my friend Julia's shop: Four Corners Supply Co . in Marshfield. One of the many great things I see about this is that two small local businesses are working together for a common good. Julia Traggorth, owner of Four Corners Supply Co., with my order from Supply. So, why is buying bulk foods a better option? 👤 Buying bulk foods is better for people. We've all heard by now about the increasing studies finding microplastics in human bodies. That is some seriously.... scary... stuff! We don't want that. And that's one thing bulk foods are all about preventing. With Supply, for example, all orders are individually packaged in compostable/recyclable packages and tin tie paper bags with a biodegradable liner. ZERO PLASTIC! These items aren't manufactured in a factory somewhere and kept in plastic for who knows how long. Some of my recent order from Supply. 🌎 Buying bulk foods is better for our planet. Cutting down on packaging also helps save resources and eliminates plastic waste. Plus, the more the local the food is, the less fossil fuels and carbon emissions there are. And that surely makes less of an impact on the planet creating less pollution and eventual climate change. 💰 Buying bulk foods is better for our wallets. With minimal packaging, the costs for the business are down and those costs can be carried over to the customer. You're also less likely to overbuy, as you can just get what you need. You're not stuck with one big package of something. Personally, I only have so much room for food storage in The Reuse Box Truck. The dry goods shelf in The Reuse Box Truck Tiny House. As an added bonus, Supply is also one of the bulk foods companies that takes SNAP/EBT. This is an important part of the brand model to help those facing food insecurity. And buying bulk foods doesn't just benefit customers wallets. By supporting local, small businesses, we're putting more money into our communities. And that's one of the easiest and most impactful ways that we can support our community. If we truly care about our community, we should want to put the money into our community's pockets, right? That being said, I used go to Whole Foods a lot, like I mentioned above. But as of earlier this year, I'm no longer going there. I don't need to give their billionaire more of my hard earned money. (Amazon owns Whole Foods if you did not know.) There are smaller, local grocery stores and bulk foods options like Supply that I can support. With every dollar that I spend, I get to vote for the kind of world I want to live in. And by supporting a small business, I'm choosing to support community and people I actually know. Since I know many of you are not in Eastern Massachusetts, there are plenty of options around the U.S. for buying bulk foods. Here's a great zero waste grocery guide by Litterless . The Dill Pickle Peanuts were not in the assortment on the shelf because they simply didn't make it that far on the way home.

I'm guessing that you celebrate Earth Day in some way? And maybe you're even setting up or taking part in an event? Well, with April approaching, I wanted to share an idea for an easy, inexpensive, fun, and educational opportunity for your school, business, community, non-profit group, neighborhood , etc . A screening of our film REUSE! Because You Can't Recycle The Planet . is a great way to celebrate our shared planet by promoting sustainability and reuse. It leaves audiences of all ages with a positive outlook for the future of our planet and provides viable alternatives to recycling. "The film follows reuse edutainer Alex Eaves' cross-country adventure to the 48 contiguous U.S. states and features endless reuse solutions for the waste problem that benefit people, planet, and our wallets." 👉 You can watch the trailer below and preview the full film in advance here. LICENSE FEES & ADD ONS Starting at just $75.00, we offer numerous licenses based on the size of the audience and if it will be a FREE or ticketed event. Once the screening is purchased, you will also get access to a digital folder of promotional materials to help make for a successful screening. You will also get access to a discussion guide filled with questions and follow up activities about the film and reuse. The director and star of the film, Alex Eaves, is available for a Q&A session; both in person and virtually. 👉 Our events can easily be incorporated into any existing larger earth day plans too. The film can be screened inside, outside, in a tent, etc. That said, screenings are great "Rain or Shine" events. An indoor screening at a business in Washington If you're interested in learning more or you're ready to book, just click the button below. And while Earth Month is a focus, we do book events throughout the year. An outdoor screening at a college in North Carolina

Using His Stage to Stay Vocal About Positive Change for Over 30 Years In 2002, when I was a touring merchandiser for bands, I went on my first tour in Europe. One of the bands on the tour was the German punk band, Donots. I actually rode on a bus with them too. As a result, I literally and figuratively became close with them, especially the Knollman brothers: Guido and Ingo. I admired how the band was such a positive, upbeat group of dudes and were able to go on stage every night, encouraging the crowd to pay attention to problems in our world and offer solutions to benefit all of us. Over the years, because of social media, I've stayed in touch with Ingo and we both casually stayed up to date with what the other was doing. At the same time, in my years working with reuse, I've seen how Germany has been ahead of the game in numerous areas (glass soda and beer bottle refilling, reusable bags, etc). So, I thought I would dip into my past music industry life and reach out to Ingo. And I was reminded yet again that reusing is truly something that everyone in the world can take part in to make a positive impact on our shared planet. Enjoy. 1. You're based in Germany; a place that I visited many times during the 2000s with bands, but unfortunately didn't have much exploring time. I was wondering if used clothing and thrift stores are currently popular there like they are in the US? Oh yeah, that has always been quite a big deal over here. People love vintage clothes, used stuff and exploring fancy thrift shops. And I have a feeling that it’s luckily getting even more popular these days. Ingo on stage with Donots playing to a crowd of 90,000 people at the Rock Am Ring Festival. (Photo: Danny Kötter) 2. With Donots, you have certainly not been quiet about your beliefs and politics. Could you talk about what has inspired you to use your platform to start those conversations? I guess that growing up in a subculture it sort of becomes an obligation or second nature to ask questions and wear your tongue on the sleeve. It’s in the DNA of punk and you’re being exposed to problems that a lot of people don’t think about. You grow up to question traditions, finding alternative solutions, activating other people, speaking up against all the wrong in this world and you get more vocal in the long run. Communication has always been the key and diving deep into lyrics and zine articles definitely shaped me to become the person I am today. Our band has been around for some 30 years now so we met a lot of interesting and amazing people along the way. And on the other hand, we saw a lot of bullshit, double standards, conserative structures, right wing shifts and all the stuff that keeps you awake at night; even more so now that we all have families and kids. But since our band has been doing really well recently and we get to play the biggest shows in 3 decades nowadays, it’d be irresponsible not to use our full scope and range. Playing for bigger audiences of course means playing to younger kids too. And those are the ones you really gotta wanna reach out to. They are still open to new ideas. They’re not spoiled yet and they carry a lot of possible positivity for this planet. That being said, I can’t recommend all ages shows enough! Also we always try to make this world a better place if only for a couple moments by inviting NGOs (non-governmental organizations) to our shows and have them set up info booths and launch street teams to dish out some much needed information. Music is of course entertainment and escapism in the first place but I love the fact that it can be much more than that. You don’t need to be outspoken politically on stage, but I can’t understand how artists don’t raise their voice in interviews or on social platforms. It’s our interface to a better world, isn't it? Ingo sharing the stage at a special matinee show with mostly kids in Wiesbaden, GERMANY. (Photo: Andreas Budtke) 3. As a performer and attendee of many big festivals in Germany, how does sustainability come into play at these events? Do you see reusable drink cups often? I mean there’s still a whole lot of work to be done and space for improvement but things are getting a lot better when it comes to sustainability at festivals these days. Most of the open air festivals are already handing out reusable cups - and there’s already a couple of open airs that even install bio toilets over here. A reusable festival cup introduced by the band Die Ärzte. You sign your name on it and keep it on your belt. 4. So, while I'm certainly a solutions guy, we do have to address the problems. Where do you see the most waste in your daily life? When it comes to myself and the waste that I produce, I’m afraid I am using my car way too often. I try and ride my bike a lot more to cut down on that sort of pollution. Also, I do find myself forgetting my reusable Descendents cup at home way too often and I love coffee just a bit too much too be honest. Apart from that, I can’t believe how much plastic is being used for all sorts of bull crap. Ingo holds his Descendents travel coffee mug. (Fun Fact: I used to have a similar mug from that band's side project, ALL.) 5. In your personal experience, how do you think recycling has worked and NOT worked as a solution to waste? I’m not an environmental expert, but judging from my 48 years on this planet I do see a lot of improvement from back in the day when I was young and nowadays. We did cut down on waste a whole lot more in general, make better use of recycling, alternative energy sources and also waste sorting is much more of a thing today. 6. How do you think Germany could step up the solutions to the waste problem? Have you seen or heard of anything anywhere else? Well, it might not seem like much, but every little bit helps, doesn’t it? I’m really happy that bottle caps in Germany are now attached to the bottles so they’re not being disposed everywhere. Also the legal grip on people smoking is becoming tighter and tighter which is a good thing. These bottle caps are mandatory on all bottles in Germany now, reducing litter. 7. It's funny. I always tell people that reusing is nothing new. It’s been going on long before we were here. Do you have any memories of your parents or grandparents reusing in unique ways? I’d say the most vivid memories would be my parents and grandparents already reusing all sorts of glass when I was young instead of throwing it all away. Like jars for mustard or jam - when they were empty, my parents and grand parents would clean them and reuse them as containers for fruit or as drinking glasses. 8. Do you have any notable stories about saving money on something because you bought it used instead of new? I just love old furniture: old cupboards, shelfs, tables and chairs, all that. I’d much rather buy used ones in second hand stores. The new stuff is almost always way too expensive. Plus, old stuff just tells great stories! 9. Have you ever taken anything out of the recycling bin or trash to reuse somehow or maybe found something on the side of the road? I just can’t walk past piles of vinyl records, old video games or books when somebody puts them in the streets before they’re being thrown away for good. One of Ingo's favorite street finds. Who tosses a Johnny Cash record?! 10. And lastly, what’s the best thing that you ever got used and why? Got a photo? I just LOVE the table in our living room which we bought from a thrift store! Posters from the European tour where I met Ingo in 2002. This was before we took photos of EVRYTHING. I'm wondering if Ingo or any of the guys have photos of us... Learn more about Ingo and his band on the Donots official site . And below, you can also listen to the Donots' new single released this week: " Allein zu allein" (Alone too Alone) To order a One of a Kind REUSE! T-Shirt like Ingo is wearing in his profile photo, head over to the STAY VOCAL One of a Kind Gallery .