A diver, a village, and a tide that needed turning
Garri Bernel did not set out to become a community leader. He was a scuba diver. A lawyer. A Filipino living in North Bali, drawn to the quiet rhythm of coastal life in Les Village. A place where mornings begin with the sea, and where livelihoods are tied, intimately and irrevocably, to what lies beneath […]
Global Recycling Day 2026: What will we recycle if nothing is recovered?
We celebrate recycling like it’s a given. We talk about it as a system that simply exists. Something reliable and always there. But here’s the uncomfortable question no one asks: What exactly are we recycling… if nothing is being recovered in the first place? Because recycling doesn’t begin in the bin. It begins in the […]
There is no circular economy without her: The role of women in waste management
At 6am, before most offices switch on their lights, she is already working. If she has gloves, she wears them. If she can afford a mask, she uses one. In front of her is a pile of plastic that doesn’t belong to her – bottles, sachets, food packaging, film. The leftovers of someone else’s convenience. […]
Plastic Credits: Safeguarding against “greenwashing” and false company eco-friendly / ESG claims
“Greenwashing”, or the exaggeration of claims by companies about their environmental, social and governance (ESG) achievements, is a growing problem in the ESG industry. Under pressure from consumers, shareholder and environmental groups, regulators are now looking at tightening rules when talking about environmental claims such as sustainability or neutral emissions[1]. To instill integrity and counter greenwashing claims in plastic credit programs (such […]
Australia’s first Indigenous-run marine plastic recycling enterprise
A whale preservation charity will fund Australia’s first Indigenous-run marine plastic recycling enterprise, transforming waste plastic into objects of desire. Gowings Whale Trust, the NFP environmental organisation started by Gowings, is financing the MiiMi Aboriginal Corporation to run a recycling operation for the Plastic Collective, giving recycled plastic a new life – out of our […]
New Technology to Identify Plastics is Helping to Recycle Ghost Nets
Imagine shooting infrared beams at a material to work out what type of plastic material it is made from – that is what a ‘Spectro-photo-scope’ does for plastic! This Near Infrared Device (NIR) is also called BASF trinamix. One of the problems with recycling discarded plastics is knowing what type of plastic they are made […]
3 Questions Every Sustainability Professional Should Ask: Getting a Holistic View of your Products’ Impact
As a sustainability professional, we see more and more frameworks being introduced – each promises a direct path to positive impact. But which, out of hundreds of options, is the right path forward for your unique brand? We hear such questions a lot in the plastic solutions space. Regardless of whether you sit in cosmetics, […]
The New Plastics Economy
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” ~ Albert Einstein The Circular Economy Model – Is it the Answer to the Plastic Crisis? Understanding plastics is fundamental to creating sustainable solutions for the plastic crisis being faced worldwide. We have been exploring plastics and bioplastics as part […]