Plastics Revolution with Tammy Ven Dange

In this episode of the Plastics Revolution podcast, host Tammy Ven Dange chats with Samantha Cross of Plastic Police and Cross Connections Consulting. Samantha spent most of her career helping companies reduce their waste as an employee of Brambles.  Then a few years ago, a combination of circumstances led her to start her own consulting company and a passion project she called Plastic Police to tackle soft plastic waste specifically. What started as a shipping container and one school has now evolved to a fully tested model with a scalable blueprint for businesses and organisations anywhere. We hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Samantha Cross of Plastic Police. You can read the summary and see all of the links from this episode on Tammy’s blog. Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2020

In this episode of Plastics Revolution, host Tammy Ven Dange chats with Abigail Forsyth, the co-founder and managing director of KeepCup. Abigail and her brother were running a number of cafes in the Melbourne area when they recognised the amount of disposable coffee cups going through their business and ending up in landfill.  Even worse, they couldn’t believe that there wasn’t already a reusable alternative on the market. Ten years later, the KeepCup brand has become the generic term for a reusable coffee cup in many places. We hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Abigail Forsyth of KeepCup. You can read the summary and see all of the links from this episode on Tammy’s blog. Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2020

In this episode of Plastics Revolution, host Tammy Ven Dange chats with Stephen Webster of Integrated Recycling, an Australian manufacturer of recycled plastic products. In this show, we learn about the origins of the company and how it’s progressed from making posts from the recycled plastic film that was used to cover grapevines to a much greater variety of products now.  This includes their Duratrack railway sleepers and their “in-development” urban noise barriers – both that have the potential to use a huge amount of recycled plastic. We hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Stephen Webster of Integrated Recycling. You can read the summary and see all of the links from this episode on Tammy’s blog. Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2020

In this episode of Plastics Revolution, Tammy Ven Dange chats with Chris Tangey of  Ecycle Solutions, an Australian recycler of e-waste and polystyrene.  Polystyrene has been a popular padding and packaging solution for a long time. However, because it’s really 98% air, it’s been the bugbear of the plastics recycling industry because it’s very difficult to transport it at a profitable rate. Chris and I talked about the value of this recyclable material and why they are able to provide this service when most other recyclers can’t. We hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Chris Tangey of Ecycle Solutions. You can read the summary and see all of the links from this episode at https://plasticsrevolution.com. Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2020

In this episode of Plastics Revolution, host Tammy Ven Dange chats with Rebecca Prince-Ruiz of Plastic Free July.  Rebecca didn’t mean to start a global movement.  She just set a family challenge to reduce the amount of plastic that they were using in the month of July. Now with an estimated 250 million people involved in 177 countries, we talk about future as the organisation is about to celebrate their 10th anniversary. We hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Rebecca Prince-Ruiz. You can read the summary and see all of the links from this episode on Tammy’s blog. Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2020

In this episode of Plastics Revolution, host Tammy Ven Dange chats with Michael Elias of MANRAGS, a men’s essential clothing line and textiles recycling service.  Michael was in banking industry when he and his wife, Tina, decided to sell socks through a subscription side-hustle. The business did so well that he eventually left his job to focus on it full time. Yet soon afterwards, Michael realised that his own business was adding to the landfill problem. This started the next phase of the business which they are undergoing now to close the loop on textile waste. We hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Michael Elias of MANRAGS. You can read the summary and see all of the links from this episode on Tammy’s blog. Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2020

In this episode of Plastics Revolution, host Tammy Ven Dange chats with Paul Jenkins of ThePackHub, a packaging consulting firm based in Banbury, England.  In this show, we learn more about the sustainability trends that he’s seeing in theconsumer packaging space including newer trends that have been prompted recently by Covid-19.  This includes the changes that brands have had to make to online distribution models and hygiene concerns. We hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Paul Jenkins of ThePackHub. You can read the summary and see all of the links from this episode on Tammy’s blog. Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2020

Planet Stewardship In this episode of Plastics Revolution, host Tammy Ven Dange chats with Paul Klymenko of Planet Ark.  Paul started his career in finance before realising that the only way that he could reduce his stress about environmental concerns was to create solutions for it. And so he did so as a co-founder and now the CEO of this environmental behaviour change organisation. In this show, we talk about how it started, their current campaigns, issues impacting the environment right now, as well as their latest program to be announced, the National Circular Economy Hub and Marketplace. We hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Paul Klymenko of Planet Ark. You can read the summary and see all of the links from this episode on Tammy’s blog. Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2020  

In this episode of Plastics Revolution, host Tammy Ven Dange chats again with Damien Clarke and Martin Brooks from Green Caffeen to get an update on their reusable coffee cup program during this Covid-19 crisis. In this show we talk about the safety of using their program, how its been impacted during this time, as well as how you can help out your favourite cafes save money. You can read the summary of this episode on Tammy’s blog. Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2020  

In this episode of Plastics Revolution, we have a very special show during the Covid-19 crisis. It’s clear that businesses have been impacted in various ways – some for the better, but many for the worse. The recycled plastics industry is really one of those that is hurting right now – not because of the lack of materials. Host Tammy Ven Dange presents three new challenges for the recycled plastic industry and discusses how you can make a difference as a consumer by buying more products made from recycled plastic. And in this special video episode, we want to introduce you to three businesses based in Australia that you can support by doing just that. They include: Anipal Plastic Forests Recycled Mats   Credits: Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2020  

In this episode of Plastics Revolution, host Tammy Ven Dange chats with Nev Hyman of NevHouse.  Nev started his career shaping surfboards for the world’s best surfers.  Along the way, he even sold a company to famous professional surfer, Kelly Slater. So, how did this surfboard maker get into building homes from recycled plastic?  That’s exactly what we talk about in this show, as well as, Nev’s future plans. You can read the highlights of this episode on Tammy’s blog with quotes and further information. Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2020 Topics from this episode: 0:00 | Intro 00 | How did Nev go from surfer to entrepreneur? 03 | Nev packs up and decides to move to the east coast of Australia where some of the biggest surfing events were held and where he starts his next surfboard shaping company called Nev Future Shapes. 7:38 | Can you take the “soul” of a surfboard if it’s not made by hand? The creation of Firewire with the help of computer aided design technology, and what does famous surfer Kelly Slater have to do with it now? 10:20 | Nev returns to the Future Shape 11:01 | How in the world did Nev go from surfboard maker to making homes from recycled plastic? 14:38 | The accidental recycler. 19:51 | How did he get investors to put money towards this idea. 05 | Nev explains the technology behind his homes and how it differs from what Replas does. “It’s not rocket science.” 16 | The investment challenge with building a manufacturing facility in Australia. 22 | Why NevHouse is a profitable investment. 59 | Opportunity Zone Funds in the US. The new Nev Earth Oz Fund that he created there to fund his first plant. 11 | Who’s the customer for NevHouse flat pack plastic homes? 37 | As for the plastic waste? 40:23 | The opportunities for providing disaster relief housing quickly. 42:32 | Reach out to Nev if you want to know more about the homes and/or the investment opportunities. Contact details below.

In this episode of Plastics Revolution, host Tammy Ven Dange chats with Simon van Leuven of Vanden Recycling. Founded in 2005, Vanden Recycling has been buying and selling recycled plastic material around the world. We talk about how Vanden manages their quality processes, as well as the challenges of exporting materials since the China Sword policy was enacted in 2018.  We also talk about how the company is being impacted now with the Covid-19 crisis. We hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Simon van Leuven of Vanden Recycling. You can read the full transcript of this episode on Tammy’s blog.   Companies, Organisations and Products Mentioned in this Podcast: Vanden Recycling Think Beginning Not End podcast   Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2020

In this episode of Plastics Revolution, Tammy Ven Dange chats with Jon Williams of Alliance Paper, a manufacturer of various paper products and a distributor of food-grade bio-packaging material. Jon’s been in the printing industry all his life, and in recent years, he’s driven the business’s focus on creating better products from both an environmental and health perspective. We’d talk about the business, his thoughts about the paper industry and even the impact of the current Covid-19 crisis. I hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Jon Williams of Alliance Paper. You can read the full transcript of this episode on Tammy’s blog. Companies, Organisations and Products Mentioned in this Podcast: Alliance Paper Planet Ark Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2020

In this episode of Plastics Revolution, host Tammy Ven Dange chats with Teresa Aylott of Little Green Panda.  Teresa started a company in 2018 to sell drinking straws made of a wheat waste product. The demand boomed as the hospitality industry decided to move away from plastic straws. And then last year, Teresa decided to merge with another liked-minded company creating the Little Green Panda we see today.  Together with her business partners, she’s reducing plastic waste, one straw at a time. I hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Teresa Aylott of Little Green Panda. You can read the full transcript of this episode on Tammy’s blog. Companies, Organisations and Products Mentioned in this Podcast: Little Green Panda Stroh Worksmith Accelerator Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2020

In this episode of Plastics Revolution, host Tammy Ven Dange chats with Heidi Taylor of Tangaroa Blue, a charity that focusses on cleaning up ocean waste and capturing the related data. Since 2004, Tangaroa Blue have captured nearly 16 million data points. And with that information, they have been able to provide the evidence that’s often required to drive changes for legislation, as well as business practices - all to reduce the waste that they are finding on beaches around Australia.  I hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Heidi Taylor of Tangaroa Blue. You can read the full transcript of this episode on Tammy’s blog. Companies, Organisations and Products Mentioned in this Podcast: Tangaroa Blue Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2020

In this episode of Plastics Revolution, host Tammy Ven Dange chats with Ryan Swenson, the Head of Sustainable Development at Officeworks. Five years ago, Officeworks created its first long-term sustainability strategy with the ultimate goal of sending zero waste to landfill. While overall operational waste has increased during this time, they’ve slashed the amount they send to landfill by nearly half and are now recycling 82% of their waste – providing a great case study for other businesses to follow. We hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Ryan Swenson of Officeworks. You can read the full transcript of this episode on Tammy’s blog. Companies, Organisations and Products Mentioned in this Podcast: Officeworks Greening Australia REDcycle Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2020

In this episode of Plastics Revolution, host Tammy Ven Dange chats with Barbara Matthews of Recycled Recreation based in Hobart, Tasmania and their newest store in Canberra, Australia.  Barbara and her husband, Rex owned an indoor climbing business when they recognised a need to help parents rehome their children’s climbing shoes as they grew out of them. Today, they have two retail shops that buy and sell outdoor clothing and gear. And from that, they’ve increased the useful life of these products - creating value for manufacturers, retailers, the customers and ultimately the environment. We hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Barbara Matthews of Recycled Recreation. You can read the full transcript of this episode on Tammy’s blog. Companies, Organisations and Products Mentioned in this Podcast: Recycled Recreation Canberra Recycled Recreation Tasmania Macpac Paddy Pallin Icebreakers Smitten Fjallraven Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2020

Thoughts from the 2 March 2020 Event In this episode of Plastics Revolution, we’re doing something a little bit different. Last week, host Tammy Ven Dange was at the National Plastics Summit at the Parliament House in Canberra, Australia. This event was sponsored by the Australian Government and the invite said (paraphrased) “this Summit seeks to accelerate solutions to the proliferation of plastic waste, and activate the actions agreed to by states and territories last year in the National Waste Policy Action Plan.” There were 200 people invited from various industries.  This included consumer products companies like McDonalds and Officeworks to plastics manufacturers, waste management companies, recyclers and packaging companies.  There were also a number of government officials, not-for-profits and experts from academia there as well. As far as format goes, the day was largely divided into 5 concurrent sessions around various topics which were advertised as round tables. They were held once in the morning, and again after lunch. While there, Tammy had the opportunity to randomly interview participants about solutions they were proposing, and what they thought of the event.  Before we hear what they have to say, let us clarify the separation of duties between the federal and local governments – which is often referred collectively as the COAG or the Council of Australian Governments. It is the local governments that are actually responsible for waste management and recycling services for their communities.  The federal government has national authority for legislation, taxation and budget distribution. They also have significant purchasing power for their own needs. A huge thanks to Minister Sussan Ley and the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment for inviting Tammy to the National Plastics Summit, and for also allowing us to conduct these interviews.  Also, thank you to the attendees who shared their thoughts with me for this podcast.  Sorry that we weren't able to include everyone. So, let’s hear now what some of the attendees had to say about the National Plastics Summit. You can read a partial transcript of this episode on Tammy’s blog.   Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2020

In this second episode of a 2 part series of Plastics Revolution, host Tammy Ven Dange continues to chat with Rob Pascoe of Closed Loop Environmental Solutions.  They talk about his newest circular solution for local councils.  We also learn more about his passion for solving food waste issues too. We hope you enjoy this 2nd part episode of Plastics Revolution with Rob Pascoe of Closed Loop You can read the full transcript at https://tvendange.com/podcast Companies, Organisations and Products Mentioned in this Podcast: Closed Loop Simply Cup Visy 7-Eleven ShredX Farmer's Place Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2020

In this first episode of a 2-part series of Plastics Revolution, host Tammy Ven Dange chats with Rob Pascoe of Closed Loop Environmental Solutions headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.  Long before recycling was mainstream, Rob created circular solutions for the likes of the 2000 Sydney Olympics and Qantas. In this first part, we talk about his business and how he managed to scale so quickly to support his large clients by creating an ecosystem with other businesses. We hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Rob Pascoe of Closed Loop You can read the full transcript of this episode on Tammy’s blog. Companies, Organisations and Products Mentioned in this Podcast: Closed Loop Simply Cup Visy 7-Eleven ShredX Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2020

In this episode of Plastics Revolution, host Tammy Ven Dange chat withs JJ Stranan of Recycled Mats based in Tweed Heads, Australia.  As a mumpreneur, JJ originally started a cultural education product business, but found her mats were in such high demand that it took the company in an entirely different direction.  Starting with an Aboriginal designer and the desire to only use recycled materials, Recycled Mats has gone from the 3rd bedroom of JJ’s house ten years ago to a  warehouse today. Furthermore, she’s trying to make every part of the business as sustainable as possible. You can read the full transcript of this episode on Tammy’s blog. Companies, Organisations and Products Mentioned in this Podcast: Recycled Mats TerraCycle Hero Packaging Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2020

In this episode of Plastics Revolution, Tammy Ven Dange chats with Rikki Gilbey of WAW Handplanes based in Sydney, Australia.  Rikki loved body surfing, and he realised that he could enjoy it even more with the handplanes that he made. Before Rikki knew it, he was in business - first making his products from wood and later taking on the huge challenge of creating an entire supply chain just so that he could make his handplanes from ocean plastic. That three year project resulted in a National Geographic award and now he has even bigger aspirations ahead. I hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Rikki Gilbey of WAW Handplanes. You can read the full transcript of this episode on Tammy’s blog.   Companies, Organisations and Products Mentioned in this Podcast: WAW Handplanes Plastic Collective Carbon Neutral Charity Fund Tangaroa Blue Replas Eco Barge Clean Seas Yulex Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2020

In this episode of Plastics Revolution, I’m chatting with Hayley Clarke of Onya based in Perth, Australia.  Onya makes reusable alternatives for single-use plastic products for consumers. Hayley and her partner were looking for a business that aligned with their personal values when they bought Onya from its original owners in 2015. Since then, they’ve grown the company both domestically and internationally while also achieving the difficult B Corporation certification that proves their commitment to the environment and others. I hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Hayley Clarke of Onya. You can read the full transcript of this episode on Tammy’s blog.   Companies, Organisations and Products Mentioned in this Podcast: Onya TerraCycle Plastic Free July   Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2019   You can read the full transcript of this episode on Tammy’s blog.

In this episode of Plastics Revolution, I’m chatting with Steve Morriss, the founder of Close the Loop. Steve started his circular economy business by refilling printer cartridges over 20 years ago. Unfortunately, there was a lot of them that couldn’t be refilled, and with this problem, Steve recognised an opportunity to partner with the manufacturers themselves to keep it out of the landfills. Today, Close the Loop is a global company that’s tackling far more than just printer cartridges. I hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Steve Morriss of Close the Loop. You can read the full transcript of this episode on Tammy’s blog. Companies, Organisations and Products Mentioned in this Podcast: Close the Loop Lousy Ink Planet Ark Downer National Circular Economy Hub Holland Circular Hotspot  Circular Economy Club Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2020

In this episode of Plastics Revolution, I’m chatting with Lesley Van Staveren from ReGen Plastics in Cairns, Australia.  For decades, Lesley and her husband Colin have been making, as well as reselling construction supplies.  Some of the products they resold were made from recycled plastic. They found it confronting when they realised that all the plastic recyclables collected in their area were actually shipped 2000 kilometres away to Brisbane, and then returned to their city as finished products. They asked, “Why couldn’t this be done in Cairns.” And so here began their journey to create industrial, load-bearing construction products from recycled plastic collected locally.    I hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Lesley Van Staveren of ReGen Plastics. You can read the full transcript of this episode on Tammy’s blog.   UPDATE: We have an update to Lesley’s story since we taped it. ReGen Plastics has just received the strength testing results performed by James Cook University for their products.  As a result, they now have the certifications for their twin-wall panel which can allow it to be used for structural applications like joists, barriers, flooring and even retaining walls. This is a huge step for creating greater demand for what may otherwise be considered plastic waste.   Companies, Organisations and Products Mentioned in this Podcast: ReGen Plastics FNQ Plastics Telford Smith Engineering Cairns Committee for Waste Reduction The Social Effect Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2019   You can read the full transcript of this episode on Tammy’s blog.  

In this episode of Plastics Revolution, I’m chatting with Louise Hardman of Plastic Collective based in the small beach community of Woolgoolga, New South Wales Australia.  Louise became aware of the plastic waste issue in the ocean over 25 years ago when she was a young zoologist.  She’d found a green turtle that was dying because it had eaten plastic hidden in the sea grass. Today she’s tackling this problem at the source by creating a portable plastic recycling machine for remote communities that don’t otherwise have waste management system in place.    While recording this episode, Australia is in the middle of a major bushfire crisis, and I’m afraid that the audio quality was occasionally impacted during our chat.  Louise and I want to send out heartfelt thanks to all the firefighters and volunteers that are helping during this difficult time, as well as our sympathies for all those people and animals that have been impacted directly. I hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Louise Hardman of Plastic Collective. You can read the full transcript of this episode on Tammy’s blog.   Companies, Organisations and Products Mentioned in this Podcast: Plastic Collective Precious Plastic Waw Hand Planes Eco Barge Clean Seas Sea Communities Ellen MacArthur Foundation Alliance to End Plastic Waste   Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2019

In this episode of Plastics Revolution, I’m chatting with Camille Reed, the founder of the Australian Circular Fashion Conference and the Australiasian Circular Textile Association (ACTA) about sustainable fashion. Camille started her career as a graphic designer and eventually translated those skills to the world of fashion.  While working as a textile designer, she realised the need to make her industry more sustainable. And a short time later, she went from designing with recycled materials to creating an industry conference and association to tackle this problem more collaboratively. I hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Camille Reed. You can read the full transcript of this episode on Tammy’s blog. Companies, Organisations and Products Mentioned in this Podcast: Australian Circular Fashion Conference Australiasian Circular Textile Association Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2019

In this episode, I chat with Paul Frasca – the co-founder and director of Sustainable Salons in Sydney, Australia. Paul started his career in the hair salon business at the tender age of 11, and then began working full time as a hairdresser at age 14.  This career took him around the world and into the most glamorous places as he did the hair of the rich and famous. Yet, Paul didn’t find his true purpose until he met his partner, Ewelina. Together they are eliminating waste in the Australian hair salon industry while feeding thousands of people through their corporate donations. I hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Paul Frasca of Sustainable Salons. You can read the full transcript of this episode on Tammy’s blog. Companies, Organisations and Products Mentioned in this Podcast: Sustainable Salons Refoil OzHarvest and KiwiHarvest Dresden Credits Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2019    

In this episode, I chat with Scott Cooney – the founder of Pono Home and Pono Home Essentials in Honolulu, Hawaii. Scott is a serial entrepreneur in the sustainability space, starting his first business years ago with an electric lawn mowing service. Now his latest start-up provides a line of fully organic, natural body care products for consumers in refillable bottles. While his desire to provide all things green for your home is obvious, the software company that lies beneath all of these businesses is not. I hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Scott Cooney of Pono Home and Pono Home Essentials. You can read the full transcript of this episode on Tammy’s blog. Companies, Organisations and Products Mentioned in this Podcast: Pono Homes Pono Homes Essentials Down to Earth Surfrider Sustainable Coastlines Credits: Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2019  

In this second half of a two-part series, I’m continuing to chat with David Hodge of Plastic Forests, a full circle recycler of industrial, agriculture and consumer plastic film waste. In this episode we talk more about why recycling is still the best road to take for plastic waste and the role that buyers – whether that be consumers, governments or businesses need to take to help the circular economy work. I hope you enjoy the second part of this Plastics Revolution interview with David Hodge of Plastic Forests. For the full transcript visit Tammy's blog. Companies, Organisations and Products Mentioned in this Podcast:Plastic Forests Drummuster Program CSR Building Materials   Credits: Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2019

In this two-part series, I’m chatting with David Hodge, the Managing Director of Plastic Forests based in Albury, Australia. David entered the plastic recycling business about ten years ago and his business created the first ever commercial process for cleaning contamination from recycled plastic films without water.  Today, the company is truly a circular recycler of industrial, agricultural and even consumer plastic waste, and we’ll explore how David and his team got here.  I hope you enjoy this Part I episode of Plastics Revolution with David Hodge of Plastic Forests. For the full transcript visit Tammy's blog. Companies, Organisations and Products Mentioned in this Podcast: Plastic Forests Redcycle Plastic Police Credits: Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2019

Today I’m chatting with Cathy Costa of the Conder House Laundry and Linen Services. They provide the only modern cloth nappy or diaper cleaning service in the greater Canberra, Australia area. Cathy started this business originally as a side hustle to meet her own family’s needs.  However, in just two years, her business has also diverted an approximate 62,000 disposable nappies or 3.4 tonnes away from landfill. Her business is making it easier for environmentally conscious families and day care centres to switch to cloth diapers. I hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Cathy Costa of the Conder House.   Companies, Organisations and Products Mentioned in this Podcast: Conder House Laundry and Linen ServicesCanberra Cloth BumsCathy Costa on Linkedin   Other Resources: Australian Nappy Association Clean Cloth Nappies Down UnderAll About Cloth DiapersCloth Diapering Mamas   Check out the full transcript on Tammy’s blog.   Credits: Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2019

Today I’m speaking with Jonathon Draper and Olivia St-Laurent of Local Press Café + Wholefoods in Canberra, Australia.  Local Press began with sustainability in mind from the day they opened their first café in 2016. And yet since then, they’ve continued to add practices that have reduced their waste by 90% and encouraged an amazing loyal following from both staff and customers alike – showing that you can be both a profitable and sustainable. This episode is truly a case study of what food businesses could do just about anywhere if they consciously chose to reduce their own impact on the environment. I hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Jonathon Draper and Olivia St-Laurent of Local Press. Companies, Organisations and Products Mentioned in this Podcast: Local Press Café + Wholefoods Woolly Pockets 1% for the Planet REDcycle Go Strawng   Check out the full transcript on Tammy’s blog page. CREDITS: Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2019

In this episode of Plastics Revolution, I chat with Damien Clarke and Martin Brooks, the founders of Green Caffeen. Both of them were stay at home dads struggling with mental health issues until they decided to start a business that essentially rents reusable takeaway cups. In 15 short months they have taken their idea across Australia with interest from overseas as well. And in this episode the guys also make a big announcement which explains why they're in Canberra, the nation's capital that day. I hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Damien Clarke and Martin Brooks of Green Caffeen. Check out the full transcript on Tammy’s blog page. CREDITS: Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2019

In this second episode of a 2-part series, I chat with Mark Yates, the founder of Repeat Plastics, now called Replas in one of the most educational and insightful shows we’ve done yet involving the plastics industry. Today, Mark’s company is one of the very few in Australia that makes products from mixed plastic waste.  And in this second half, we chat more about the industry challenges including what can be done from a packaging design and government policy perspective to make plastic waste more valuable for recycling. I hope you enjoy this Part 2 episode of Plastics Revolution with Mark Yates from Replas. Check out the show notes and full transcript on Tammy’s blog page. CREDITS Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2019

In this 2-part series, I chat with Mark Yates, the founder of Repeat Plastics, now called Replas in one of the most educational and insightful shows we’ve done yet involving the plastics industry. Mark unintentionally entered the recycled plastics business 28 years ago when he decided to make something with the plastic packaging waste that was being generated in his father’s gum factory. Today, Mark’s company is one of the very few in Australia that makes products from mixed plastic waste.  If you ever wanted to know what happens to the soft plastic that the grocery stores collect, this is the show for you. I hope you enjoy this Part I episode of Plastics Revolution with Mark Yates from Replas. Check out the show notes and full transcript on Tammy’s blog page. CREDITS Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2019

Today's guest is Luise Grossman. She’s a surfer, marketer and the co-founder of a sustainable surf product company called Five Oceans. In 2013, Luise and her life partner, Felix Wunner decided to start a movement of sorts by trying to make the surf-product industry more sustainable.  In fact, she explained to me the contradiction between the mindset of a surfer and the lack of sustainability in most of the products they use for their own sport. Five Oceans first product was called Ecofin, a surfboard fin made recycled plastic collected in Bali. Specifically, a set of Ecofins is actually made from 100 recycled bottle caps. In this episode, we’ll talk about how they came up with their idea, how they funded the manufacturing through crowdfunding, and ultimately the impact they have already made and want to make moving forward. I hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Luise Grossman of Five Oceans.   Companies, Organisations and Products Mentioned in this Podcast: 5 OceansSchool fin key video    Check out the full transcript on Tammy’s blog page.  CREDITS: Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade   All Rights Reserved 2019

In today's podcast, we meet with Stephanie Stubbe from Melbourne Australia. She's a practicing veterinarian who founded Anipal, the first Australian company to make dog collars and leads from recycled plastics. In ten short months, she's managed to sell out her first order without spending a dime on marketing. And yet this company was never about the money, but a way to champion changes to the vet industry to be more sustainable in their practices. I hope you enjoy this episode of Plastics Revolution with Stephanie Stubbe from Anipal. COMPANIES, ORGS & PRODUCTS MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST: Anipal SproutX RSPCA CREDITS Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade All Rights Reserved 2019 A full copy of the transcript can be found here:

Why would an injection moulding plastics manufacturer suddenly decide to change his business strategy in favour of recycled and circular materials? After all, manufacturing with recycled materials is hard. There’s no guarantee for continuity of supply, the quality of feedstock can be inconsistent, processing degrades quality, and there’s always a risk that contamination can impact colour. My guest, Royston Kent is an outdoors enthusiast and the co-founder and CEO of B&C Plastics.  His business is a product development and plastics manufacturing company based in Brisbane Australia.  Royston was in this industry for more than a decade when he and his business partner, Bob Halsall decided to buy B&C which was an undermanaged company at the time. Today Royston’s company is actively recommending to his clients the use of recycled plastic feedstock, as well as promoting circular lifecycle opportunities of the products.  Yet, this wasn’t always the case.  And even now, it’s quite unusual in the plastics manufacturing industry in general. In this episode, Royston shares his business journey and why he’s had a recent change of heart that has completely changed his company’s strategic direction – one that is putting sustainability in the heart of all they do. Companies, Organisations and Products Mentioned in this Podcast: B&C Plastics Five OceansMAPET - Food grade PET plastic AstronPlastic Bank   Full Transcript:  Check out the full transcript on the Plastics Revolution website or on Tammy’s blog page. Credits: Hosted by Tammy Ven Dange Produced by Jonny Puskas Theme Music by Joseph McDade   All Rights Reserved 2019