California
'Sip, return, repeat': How this California city is trying to normalize reusable cups
Next month, more than 30 chain restaurants and locally owned coffee shops and eateries in Petaluma, California, will begin providing beverages in reusable cups by default as part of a first-of-its-kind pilot program meant to reduce pollution from single-use plastic.
Through the Petaluma Reusable Cup Project — a three-month pilot program sponsored by a food and beverage industry group called the NextGen Consortium — customers will be served hot and cold beverages in bright purple reusable plastic cups, unless they ask for disposables or bring their own mugs. After drinking their coffees, teas, or sodas, they’ll be able to return the cups at any of the participating establishments, or at one of 60 return receptacles placed strategically throughout the city.
A reuse logistics provider, Muuse, will be in charge of collecting, washing, and redistributing the clean cups back to the coffee shops and restaurants.
Kate Daly, managing director of the impact investment firm Closed Loop Partners — which oversees the NextGen Consortium — said the program will be a major milestone. Existing reusable cup programs tend to operate in sports stadiums, concert halls, and other confined spaces where it’s easier to keep track of inventory. No other citywide program in the U.S. has made reusable cups the default option across so many different foodservice brands.
The project aims to achieve an “unprecedented saturation of reusable packaging” within Petaluma, Daly told Grist. Thanks to funding from the NextGen Consortium — founded by Starbucks and McDonald’s and supported by companies including PepsiCo and Coca-Cola — she said hundreds of thousands of reusable cups will be deployed throughout the city in preparation for the program’s August 5 start date.
Participating locations will include Starbucks, Peet’s Coffee, Dunkin’, KFC, and The Habit Burger Grill, as well as local cafes and restaurants like the Petaluma Pie Company and Tea Room Cafe. Closed Loop Partners said they selected Petaluma — a city of about 60,000 people just north of San Francisco — because of its dense, walkable downtown, and because of residents’ receptivity to reuse programs. Many people may have grown familiar with reuse last year, when Starbucks tested a smaller-scale reusable cup program at 12 locations between Petaluma and another city nearby.
Although the new program is confined to Petaluma and will only last three months, it could help inform initiatives in other cities that are seeking to do away with single-use plastic packaging, the overwhelming majority of which is made from fossil fuels. The U.S. produces close to 40 million metric tons of plastic waste every year and recycles only 5 percent of it; the rest gets sent to landfills or incinerators, or ends up as litter.
Some types of plastic, including disposable cups, are even more unlikely to be recycled. According to the most recent data from the Environmental Protection Agency, from 2018, the U.S. produces more than 1 million tons of plastic plates and cups annually and recycles virtually none of it.
Reuse programs are supposed to help by driving down demand for new plastic packaging. Some initiatives allow customers to bring their own containers to grocery stores and restaurants; others involve store-owned containers that customers borrow and then return. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the most effective returnable container programs could reduce materials use by up to 75 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by up to 70 percent, compared to the status quo. The nonprofit also estimates that U.S. businesses could save some $10 billion in material costs if they replace just 20 percent of their single-use plastic packaging with reusable alternatives.
In designing the Petaluma Reusable Cup Project, Daly and her colleagues sought to ensure a smoother experience than what has been offered in previous trials, including some in the San Francisco Bay Area that were launched by the NextGen Consortium. One key focus was on what she called “precompetitive collaboration,” or getting businesses to buy into a common reuse system in which all of the elements — cups, logistics, messaging — are shared. This might go against companies’ competitive instincts, but it reduces costs so that businesses can participate in a larger reuse system instead of managing one on their own.
To make the program easy to participate in, the Petaluma Reusable Cup Project will be free and won’t involve any customer tracking. Most other reusable cup programs rely on financial motivations to make sure inventory doesn’t get lost — either they charge customers a small, returnable deposit when they borrow a reusable container, or they take down the customer’s credit card information so they can be charged if they fail to return the container after a set amount of time. These options often require downloading a program-specific app.
In Petaluma, however, customers won’t have to do anything to participate — they’ll just order their drinks as normal, with no additional payment or exchange of personal information. A QR code on each cup will direct customers to a website with instructions on how and where to return them — at one of the participating eateries, in return receptacles on city streets or in convenience stores and supermarkets, or by scheduling a home pickup by Muuse.
Rob Daly (no relation to Kate) is owner and president of Avid Coffee, an independent coffee shop with a location in downtown Petaluma. He said the extensive network of return locations made it a “no-brainer” to participate in the Petaluma Reusable Cup Project. Having reliable access to a return point “takes the guesswork out of the consumer’s hands and makes it easier on them,” he told Grist. “When they walk out of my store and they see a drop point, whether it’s my drop point or at multiple locations that are around me or around town — that solves everything.”
Not charging for cups or tracking customers may encourage more people to participate, but it’s also something of a gamble. If lots of customers decided to keep or forgot to return their containers, the Petaluma Reusable Cup Project Project would have no way to hold anyone accountable — it would have to eat the cost of replacing those cups. But Kate Daly said her team has taken some steps to mitigate this problem, like labeling the cups with the message “sip, return, repeat” to remind customers not to throw them away. The cups’ bright purple color is meant to make them “the right kind of ugly,” as Kate Daly put it, to discourage people from keeping them at home.
More importantly, the cups are not individually very valuable — they’re made of an inexpensive rigid plastic called polypropylene — so it won’t represent a huge loss when some inevitably go missing.
Many other reuse programs have opted for polypropylene containers too, despite concerns that they can still leach toxic chemicals and the inherent challenges with recycling them. Some environmental groups argue that single-use plastics should be replaced with reusable containers made of metal and glass, which are more inert and easier to recycle. Most plastic can only be recycled once or twice before it has to be “downcycled” into lower-quality products like carpeting.
Kate Daly said the Petaluma project chose polypropylene because it weighs less than alternative materials and thus causes fewer greenhouse gas emissions during transport. She also said stainless steel cups sometimes get watermarks on them after many washing cycles, causing customers to think they’re unclean.
NextGen’s funding for the Petaluma Reusable Cup Project will last until the end of October. After that, it will be up to city officials to decide whether they want to continue — and find a way to pay for — the program, with or without any structural changes.
Georgia Sherwin, Closed Loop Partners’ senior director of strategy and partnerships, told Grist that some return bins will stay up after the program’s end date so customers can continue bringing their cups back. “The results from the first three months of the initiative will ultimately inform the next rounds of iteration and what a continuation or future reuse program like this would look like in Petaluma and beyond,” she wrote in an email.
Once the cups are collected, Sherwin said her organization aims to “maximize their uses before being recycled,” potentially by donating them to local schools, cafeterias, and businesses.
California reported one of the largest decreases in homelessness over the past year, according to a new report from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (Hud).
The Golden state recorded a total unhoused population of 181,934 in 2025 – an almost 3% decrease since the year prior, placing it among the five states with the largest decreases from 2024. However, more significant drops were recorded in Illinois (44%), Hawaii (41%), Florida (11%) and New York (8%).
The new data signals at least some success on the part of Gavin Newsom, the California governor who has intensified his crackdown on homelessness over the past year. In May 2025 he announced a new model ordinance for cities and counties to address “persistent” homeless encampments, as well as $3.3bn in voter-approved funding to increase housing and drug treatment programs.
California, along with New York, had the largest population of unsheltered people recorded in 2025. Homelessness has been a key issue in this year’s gubernatorial race, as well as in the Los Angeles mayoral race.
The data also showed that the national homeless population decreased for the first time since 2016, coming down 3% from 2024. The Trump administration attempted to downplay the small one-year decrease, instead highlighting the fact that homelessness has increased 27% since 2013.
“The data is clear that the status quo of ‘housing first’ has failed to meaningfully reduce homelessness, resulting in crisis levels of people living on the streets,” Scott Turner, the Hud secretary, said in a press release. “HUD is restoring its programs to advance recovery and self-sufficiency and to ensure that taxpayer-funded benefits serve American families.”
As the administration attempted to downplay the drop in homelessness, it also sought to connect the success to its immigration policies, stating that the 2025 decrease was “attributable to decreases in Sanctuary Cities”.
The data comes from the federally mandated homeless point-in-time count, which tallies people sleeping in shelters and outside on a given day. On a single night in January 2025, there were 745,652 homeless persons in the United States.
While anti-homelessness advocates cited the decrease in homelessness as a “relief”, they also pointed out that the Trump administration’s policies may erode the progress that has been made.
“So much of the progress reflected in the 2025 PIT Count is due to targeted housing and service resources that were available in 2024 to rehouse people, including the highly successful Emergency Housing Voucher program, and new funds to address rural and unsheltered homelessness,” Ann Oliva, the CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, the Trump Administration has largely deprioritized these tools and worked to dismantle the very systems that drove these reductions.” Oliva pointed to the administration’s proposed cuts to permanent housing programs, which the organization found would “force at least 170,000 formerly homeless people back on the streets”.
The government has also mandated treatment for recipients of federal housing vouchers, and penalized jurisdictions that employed harm-reduction strategies such as safe consumption sites. In April 2026, Hud introduced a proposed rule that would require federally funded shelters to house prospective tenants based on their birth sex alone.
California
I moved from Germany to the US for my career. The high cost of living in California shocked me, but it’s worth it to live here.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Christiane Schroeter, a 49-year-old professor of innovation and entrepreneurship and leadership strategist in San Luis Obispo, California. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I moved from Limburg, Germany, to the US in 1999 as an exchange student for my M.S. degree before returning to Germany to complete additional graduate work. I returned to the US in 2001 as a Fulbright Scholar to pursue my Ph.D. at Purdue University.
After I earned my Ph.D. in 2005, I decided to build my career and my life in the US rather than return to Germany. I had met my husband during my graduate school years, and together we chose to put down roots on the West Coast.
I joined the faculty at Cal Poly in September 2007 and gave birth to my daughter in December of that year. I started a new job, pregnant, while moving across the country. Building a career and a family at the same time, far from my home country, shaped everything I came to understand about the real cost of relocating.
Today, I’m a leadership strategist, professor of innovation and entrepreneurship at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, author of several books about leadership, and a podcaster.
The new country feels last longer than you expect
I was 23 years old when I first moved to the US. I expected the obvious expenses, such as flights, paperwork, and the starter purchases you don’t think about until you need them.
What surprised me was how long the newness stayed expensive. Even when your income is objectively higher, fixed costs rise so quickly that it takes very little to feel financially stretched.
I spent hours learning basics I had taken for granted in Germany, like opening bank accounts, building credit from zero, and figuring out what to do when you’re asked for a Social Security number before you have one.
I also had to learn how rental contracts, deposits, phone plans, and transportation work in places where you need a car, including registration, insurance, and DMV requirements. Time becomes money fast when you’re studying, working, and trying to build a future at the same time.
In Germany, I knew how life worked. In the US, I had to rebuild that knowledge piece by piece.
Housing in California made me realize how quickly additional money gets absorbed
Many people underestimate how dramatically living in California can affect their budget.
For me, one of the highest unexpected monthly costs was the mortgage. Housing was not slightly more expensive. It became the financial anchor that shaped everything else. My husband and I had to make monthly decisions around that number.
Living in California was a genuine upgrade with bigger houses and bigger yards. California’s abundance of fresh produce, gorgeous weather, and proximity to the ocean fit my lifestyle better than Germany ever did. The cold, rainy days and a culture I never fully connected with were not the life I wanted.
I would honestly say I live in a “Goldilocks place.”
The cost of childcare changed how I thought about security
The hardest trade-off was realizing how expensive support can be when you live far from friends and family. After I delivered my first child, I faced the childcare scramble almost immediately. I remember touring childcare centers and wondering how families afford monthly costs for multiple children. I spoke with mothers who realized that their earnings would nearly match what they were paying for childcare.
At the same time, I was adjusting physically and emotionally to becoming a mother, and when you’re far from family, there’s no built-in safety net for the unpredictable moment, such as a sick day, a last-minute meeting, or an emergency.
I learned that many US families create a fragile patchwork of childcare and babysitting. If you have children, distance from family is not only emotional but also logistical. It can become one of your highest monthly costs, and one of your biggest mental loads.
On a lesser note, one bill shocked me: our cellphone bill. Our family plan with four phones, two watches, and two iPads is about $300. That may sound routine, but over a year, it feels like a luxury purchase hiding in plain sight.
Healthcare and benefits reshaped my definition of stability
Healthcare in the US introduced another layer of financial awareness. Even with insurance, you still have to pay premiums, deductibles, co-pays, navigate provider networks, and prepare for potential surprise costs.
I remember debating whether to schedule a specialist appointment because I wasn’t sure how much it would count toward our deductible. In Germany, that decision would have been straightforward. In the US, it required reviewing the provider network, estimating out-of-pocket costs, and preparing for an unexpected bill.
The upside is real, but so is the pressure
I built the life for which I came here. I built a stable academic career. I built a business. California became home.
In Germany, Sundays were true rest days. Life paused by design. In California, Sundays easily became catch-up days. I realized I had to intentionally create what I now call “Serenity Sunday.” It is my way of honoring the German philosophy of working to live while living in an American culture that often feels like living to work.
I don’t think I’d move back to Germany now. When I visit, I enjoy it more like a tourist looking in than a native who feels at home. For me, the cost of living in California is worth it, because what I’ve gained is hard to put on a spreadsheet: independence, a career I couldn’t have built anywhere else, and a family rooted in a place I chose.
The price is real, but so is the payoff.
OAKLAND, Calif. – With Tuesday’s primary election approaching, the race for California governor is coming into focus — and one candidate’s rise has surprised nearly everyone watching.
That’s according to Joe Garofoli, senior political writer and columnist with the San Francisco Chronicle, who broke down the latest polling and key races to watch with KTVU.
Who’s in the lead?
By the numbers:
The latest Berkeley IGS poll of 5,000 likely voters from May 19-24, shows former Attorney General Xavier Becerra leading the field at 25%, with Republican Steve Hilton at 21% and billionaire activist Tom Steyer at 19%.
Just two months ago, Becerra was polling at 5% and Democratic Party leaders were quietly urging lower-performing candidates to reconsider their campaigns. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is now polling at 1%, was among those who suggested Becerra consider dropping out.
“This would be the greatest comeback since Lazarus,” Garofoli said.
He attributed Becerra’s turnaround primarily to the exit of Congressman Eric Swalwell from the race, saying Swalwell’s voters and Becerra share many of the same moderate positions.
Becerra, Garofoli said, has leaned into a steady, reassuring image on the campaign trail.
“He’s sort of portraying himself as Tío Becerra — Uncle Becerra, the kindly uncle,” Garofoli said. “This is not a guy who’s going to go to Sacramento and turn over the tables.”
The other side:
Steyer, meanwhile, has climbed from 15% earlier this month to 19% in the latest poll, powered by $213 million of his own money and a string of endorsements from major progressive organizations in California.
His support for single-payer health care and his pledge to not take corporate PAC money have resonated with the left, even as some progressives have historically been skeptical of billionaire candidates.
“Steyer’s a different type of billionaire than the tech billionaires who they traditionally oppose,” Garofoli said, noting that Steyer’s platform focuses on protecting and creating working-class jobs rather than advancing technologies that could eliminate them.
Ballots are slow coming in
Dig deeper:
Despite the competitive field, Democrats have been slow to return their mail-in ballots, with return rates sitting around 12%.
Garofoli said the hesitation reflects a broader dissatisfaction with the candidate pool.
“I can’t tell you how many people told me, ‘I don’t know who to vote for, none of these people appeal to me,’” he said. “Nobody in this field really has that outsized big personality, or at least has demonstrated it at this point.”
Local perspective:
In San Francisco, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi added a new variable to the congressional race to fill her seat, endorsing Supervisor Connie Chan over front-runner State Senator Scott Wiener. Garofoli said the endorsement was expected, though its timing surprised him.
Pelosi’s recent endorsement record in San Francisco has been uneven — she backed Dean Preston, who lost, and Joel Engardio, who was recalled — but Garofoli said this one may carry more weight.
“It is for her seat. She has tapped Chan on the shoulder and said, this is the person I want,” he said.
Chan is currently in a tight race with Saikat Chakrabarti, a former tech engineer and one-time aide to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, according to Chronicle polling.
The Pelosi endorsement, Garofoli said, could be enough to push Chan into the top two alongside Wiener.
The Source: Interview with Joe Garofoli, senior political writer and columnist with the San Francisco Chronicle, Berkeley IGS poll
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