What will it take for people to reuse and repurpose as a daily habit? I am constantly racking my brain trying to figure out why people seem to be inherently lazy and care so little about our planet's sustainability, and, what can we to change this behavior?

I just finished reading two very good, very different posts about this issue. One was written by Nicki Lisa Cole in today's  Conducive Chronicle entitled Beyond Disposable, A Paradigm Shift in Consumer Living. She raises the question: "What if nothing was disposable?" What if we didn't manufacture single-use disposable products? Wouldn't it be easy and automatic to reuse and repurpose if products were made with quality sustainable materials, built to last? No one would consider throwing away a stainless steel cookie sheet after one use. The second post was in Grist, with the caption: "Too Lazy to Go Green? Hire an Eco-Concierge." Are they kidding? Is that how lazy we've really become? They say that people who have a slight environmental conscience and the money can go greener and still be just as lazy. How does that work? What happens when one of these entitled people is out and about and polishes off a diet coke in a can? Does that person throw it in the recycling bin? The trash? Or care enough to bring it home to the Eco-Concierge? But that would involve some effort.

I'm hoping for a more sustainable solution. I'd love your ideas on how to get people to choose to reduce, reuse, repurpose and recycle as a good everyday habit.

Today we launched our campaign on IndieGoGo! At last!!! Here's the link if you want to check out our video and the scoop on  our first reusable product, the Pi Pan. http://www.indiegogo.com/GoodNewsReuse?a=204267&i=emal 
We would greatly appreciate your support.

The Pi Pan is a reusable pizza container that we designed after learning that Americans throw away 3 billion (yes billion) pizza boxes every year. 

Today I also wrote my first ever press release. Hopefully you'll be reading this again and again as the word gets out.

Good News Reuse™ launches a funding campaign on IndieGoGo for a reusable pizza box
“everyone can use good news”

Good News Reuse™, a start-up devoted to reducing waste in the food and beverage industry, has spearheaded an online funding campaign on IndieGoGo. Founder, Susan Lopes, is counting on community support to raise funds for their first product, the Pi Pan, a reusable pizza box. With enough backing, Lopes will launch the Pi Pan, which was designed to replace the 3 billion cardboard pizza boxes thrown away in the USA each year.

IndieGoGo is an online “crowdfunding” website where entrepreneurs have an opportunity to present their ideas to a supportive community to raise seed money. People can show support by contributing as little as $5 or up to $25,000 or more, and be rewarded with perks from the creator. Good News Reuse™ has set their goal at $70,000, the minimum amount needed to fund the manufacturing of the Pi Pan prototype and samples. There is a 34-day fundraising window and the campaign ends on Monday, October 17, 2011.

When asked why we opted to launch on IndieGoGo, Lopes stated “You can spread the word quickly to a lot of people and, our company in particular, has a strong educational message to get out to the masses. IndieGoGo also allows you to promote your brand, not just a specific product, in a transparent way. We are excited to announce, from the onset, that we are partnering with MiiR’s one4one initiative for some of our perks. Each contribution for a reusable water bottle will provide clean water to a deserving person for an entire year. This is in keeping with the company’s long-range mission to give back to environmental causes.”

To learn more about Good News Reuse™ and the Pi Pan visit our campaign at:
http://www.indiegogo.com/GoodNewsReuse?a=204267&i=emal 

The patent-pending Pi Pan is made of thin commercial food grade stainless steel and is as thin as a reusable water bottle. It is reusable for 1,000+ times. It is BPA-free and does not contain other unhealthy chemicals.

Good News Reuse™ believes that the introduction of reusable products in businesses, institutions, and schools will make a huge impact on resource conservation. The act of replacing single-use products will also provide an opportunity to create life-long healthy habits, particularly among young children. Ultimately, Good News Reuse™ wants all pizza lovers to have a reusable Pi Pan and it will be available for purchase on their website.

“People are always shocked to learn that we throw away 3 billion cardboard pizza boxes every year in the USA. That’s enough to circle the earth 26 times. They are also surprised to find out that food-stained pizza boxes are not recyclable, only commercially compostable. That ends up being a lot of waste in our landfills,” says Lopes.

About Good News Reuse™: 
Good News Reuse™ is a start-up dedicated to reducing waste in the food and beverage industry. Good News Reuse™ designs sustainable solutions to replace single-use disposables with reusable products. 

Once profitable Good News Reuse™ will donate at least 1% of annual sales to nonprofits working to protect the environment and promote environmental awareness.

Learn more about Good News Reuse™ at http://www.goodnewsreuse.com.

Contact:
Susan Lopes
[email protected]

Driving home from Northern California, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the giant redwoods, with the sun rays peeking through the branches. 101 has to be one of the most beautiful highways anywhere in the world. Ironically, I passed by a dozen trucks piled high with lumber and thought to myself, this is why we need sustainable, reusable products. We have to preserve these magnificent trees. This is why we need Good News Reuse™. 

I thought about the delicious organic Tony Tutto's pizza I was going to eat later in the day with Darya, Intern extraordinaire. Like all take-out pizzas, it would be packaged in a single-use cardboard box. When finished, we would cut out the greasy parts for composting and recycle the rest, if any. Most people are surprised to learn that pizza boxes, when food-stained, are not recyclable. Most towns don't have commercial composting. Most pizza boxes end up in landfills.

Truth be told, we bring in our own container now...Tony expects it. With the knowledge our team now has about the billions of pizza boxes going to waste each year, no more single-use pizza boxes for us.

Creating a reusable pizza box from sustainable materials was our first solution to saving trees and other natural resources. We hope our first product...we call it The Pi Pan...will be available soon. We are madly working to get funding and have decided to go the crowdfunding route so we can get the word out as quickly as possible to as many pizza lovers as possible. 












Photos courtesy of Olivia: