THE PARADIGM SHIFT: Reduction, Recycling, & Technology - Plastic Plague Pt. 6 - Ep. 64

Plastic Plague Series: PART 6 (of 7) THE PARADIGM SHIFT - we explore how reduction, recycling, and technology can create a paradigm shift that is solution oriented, equitable, and achievable. Our guests include Claire Arkin, from GAIA (Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives), Marcus Eriksen of 5 Gyres Institute, and Keng Baloco, of Athens Services. There is too much plastic production for recycling to be the end-all-be-all solution to our problems, not to mention the inequity from its creation to disposal. However, waste-to-energy, chemical recycling, and plastic-to-fuel also have their concerns and might not be the winning silver bullet. Solutions best laid are community oriented and do not compromise the needs of future generations. So who is responsible for shifting the norm? Is it consumers, business, or manufacturers? How do we create community-based solutions? And how do these solutions around reuse and recycling weather issues and concerns related to virus spread and pandemics like COVID-19. Tune in to hear from the experts. Claire Arkin is the Communications Coordinator at GAIA (Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives) [http://www.no-burn.org]. Her work has been featured in such outlets as The Guardian, Resource-Recycling and the San Francisco Chronicle. She recently coordinated a global investigative project called “Discarded” that documented impacts of the global plastic waste trade on communities in Southeast Asia. Marcus Eriksen, 5 Gyres Institute [https://www.5gyres.org] – Research Director and Co-Founder. As an environmental scientists publishing the first global estimate of plastics in the world’s oceans, and co-discovering microbeads in the Great Lakes, Marcus and his team use research to inform campaigns aimed at changing the systems that pollute the planet and communities. Keng Baloco, Commodity Sales and Logistics Manager, Athens Services [https://athensservices.com/] has 13 years of experience in the waste and recycling industry. She currently markets commodities to domestic and international markets, finding homes for post-consumer plastic, fiber, metal, glass and other commodities. Hosted by Jessica Aldridge from SoCal 350 and Adventures in Waste [adventuresinwaste.com/] Engineer: Blake Lampkin Executive Producer: Jack Eidt Producer: Georgia Tunioli Show Created by Mark and JP Morris Music: Javier Kadry Episode 64 Photo Credit: Adam Dean/GAIA