diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 11c5d741..1dd43237 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ module github.com/suborbital/e2core
 go 1.19
 
 require (
-	github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime-go v1.0.0
+	github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime-go/v5 v5.0.0
 	github.com/google/uuid v1.3.0
 	github.com/gorilla/websocket v1.5.0
 	github.com/nats-io/nats.go v1.23.0
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 3a480a56..32c5bfaa 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -103,8 +103,8 @@ github.com/buger/jsonparser v0.0.0-20180808090653-f4dd9f5a6b44/go.mod h1:bbYlZJ7
 github.com/bugsnag/bugsnag-go v0.0.0-20141110184014-b1d153021fcd/go.mod h1:2oa8nejYd4cQ/b0hMIopN0lCRxU0bueqREvZLWFrtK8=
 github.com/bugsnag/osext v0.0.0-20130617224835-0dd3f918b21b/go.mod h1:obH5gd0BsqsP2LwDJ9aOkm/6J86V6lyAXCoQWGw3K50=
 github.com/bugsnag/panicwrap v0.0.0-20151223152923-e2c28503fcd0/go.mod h1:D/8v3kj0zr8ZAKg1AQ6crr+5VwKN5eIywRkfhyM/+dE=
-github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime-go v1.0.0 h1:9u9gqaUiaJeN5IoD1L7egD8atOnTGyJcNp8BhkL9cUU=
-github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime-go v1.0.0/go.mod h1:jjlqQbWUfVSbehpErw3UoWFndBXRRMvfikYH6KsCwOg=
+github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime-go/v5 v5.0.0 h1:Ue3eBDElMrdzWoUtr7uPr7NeDZriuR5oIivp5EHknQU=
+github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime-go/v5 v5.0.0/go.mod h1:KcecyOqumZrvLnlaEIMFRbBaQeUYNvsbPjAEVho1Fcs=
 github.com/cenkalti/backoff/v4 v4.1.1/go.mod h1:scbssz8iZGpm3xbr14ovlUdkxfGXNInqkPWOWmG2CLw=
 github.com/cenkalti/backoff/v4 v4.2.0 h1:HN5dHm3WBOgndBH6E8V0q2jIYIR3s9yglV8k/+MN3u4=
 github.com/cenkalti/backoff/v4 v4.2.0/go.mod h1:Y3VNntkOUPxTVeUxJ/G5vcM//AlwfmyYozVcomhLiZE=
diff --git a/sat/engine2/runtime/instance/instance.go b/sat/engine2/runtime/instance/instance.go
index 4be13e2a..37e2d04c 100644
--- a/sat/engine2/runtime/instance/instance.go
+++ b/sat/engine2/runtime/instance/instance.go
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 package instance
 
 import (
-	"github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime-go"
+	"github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime-go/v5"
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 
 	"github.com/suborbital/e2core/foundation/scheduler"
diff --git a/sat/engine2/runtime/pool.go b/sat/engine2/runtime/pool.go
index 1a32ce17..6e6b73ba 100644
--- a/sat/engine2/runtime/pool.go
+++ b/sat/engine2/runtime/pool.go
@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
 package runtime
 
 import (
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
 	"sync"
 
-	"github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime-go"
+	"github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime-go/v5"
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 
 	"github.com/suborbital/e2core/foundation/scheduler"
@@ -70,9 +72,27 @@ func (ip *InstancePool) UseInstance(ctx *scheduler.Ctx, instFunc func(*instance.
 	// return it to the environment when finished
 	inst := <-ip.availableInstances
 
-	defer func() {
-		ip.availableInstances <- inst
-	}()
+	reuseEnv := os.Getenv("SAT_REUSE_INSTANCE")
+
+	// if instance reuse is disabled, trigger a new instance to be added
+	// if it is enabled, queue the instance to be re-added to the pool
+	if reuseEnv == "false" {
+		go func() {
+			if err := ip.AddInstance(); err != nil {
+				fmt.Println("FAILED TO ADDINSTANCE:" + err.Error())
+			}
+		}()
+
+		defer func() {
+			inst.Close()
+			inst = nil
+		}()
+
+	} else {
+		defer func() {
+			ip.availableInstances <- inst
+		}()
+	}
 
 	// generate a random identifier as a reference to the instance in use to
 	// easily allow the Wasm module to reference itself when calling back over the FFI