99Bridges and Reuse Seattle Partner to Bring “Borrow Anywhere, Return Anywhere” to Seattle

A city-scale reusable-packaging network aims to make returning a reusable container as easy as tossing a disposable one — with founding businesses signing on this summer.

99Bridges today announced a partnership with Reuse Seattle, an initiative of Seattle Public Utilities, committing to bring Borrow Anywhere, Return Anywhere (BARA) to Seattle — a planned city-scale reusable-packaging network designed to let customers borrow reusable containers from participating businesses and return them at any other location in the network.

Single-use packaging is one of the most visible environmental challenges cities face today, and recycling alone has not solved it. BARA takes a different approach: instead of asking each business to manage reusables on its own, it aims to create shared return points and shared logistics across a neighborhood, so returning a container is convenient no matter where a customer got it. The network is designed to run on MOSAIC, the 99Bridges platform built to track every reusable item and coordinate washing, sorting, and redistribution behind the scenes — so participating businesses wouldn't have to.

The partnership marks a joint commitment between the two organizations to build reuse infrastructure at city scale. The work starts now, with a founding-partner recruitment phase this summer.

This summer, a founding team will begin recruiting local cafes, restaurants, and takeout-focused businesses across three Seattle neighborhoods — South Lake Union, Denny Triangle, and Queen Anne — with the goal of building a founding group of participating businesses this season. The intent is for founding partners to receive early, preferred pricing, visibility at launch, and a voice in how the program takes shape.

For interested businesses, the pitch is simple: join a neighborhood-wide reuse network without changing how you operate. The model is built around no washing, sorting, or tracking for the business to manage, with pricing intended to be cost-competitive with single-use packaging as the program is finalized.