Skip to content

Circular Economy Podcast

Ep 32 Christian van Maaren of Excess Materials Exchange

Episode 32- Christian van Maaren of Excess Materials Exchange

Christian van Maaren is co-founder of Excess Materials Exchange, based in the Netherlands. Excess Materials Exchange is saving the planet by running a dating site, which at first sounds improbable, and then sounds intriguing!
Christian believes the circular economy is one of the fastest and cheapest ways to achieve the Paris climate goals, and we hear how Excess Materials Exchange helps customers measure the value of their exchange options, in financial, environmental and social impacts.
Christian tells us about the kinds of companies and materials they match up, using a combination of blockchain and AI, and how they actively match supply & demand for materials to ensure high value re-use.

Circular Economy Podcast Episode 31 Tom Fecarotta of Rheaply

Episode 31 – Tom Fecarotta of Rheaply

Rheaply’s mission is to make the world’s resources more discoverable and transferable through technology. Rheaply combines enterprise asset management with a virtual marketplace, which allows organizations to track inventory and depreciation. It helps people to visualize, quantify and utilize surplus assets, and to offload end-of-life, unwanted assets to organisations that need them.
We hear about Rheaply’s core technology, its Asset Exchange Manager, and how this allows people to highlight those unused assets. We hear about the focus on Zero Waste in the US, and how Rheaply uses gamification to help people become Zero Waste Heroes in their organisation. We also find out why assets that still have value get discarded, and why looking at your internal operations first can pay dividends for resource efficiency and sustainability.

Circular Economy Podcast Episode 30 - what have we learnt?

Episode 30 – What have we learned?

We review the last 9 episodes, exploring key themes & summarising what we’ve learned. Plus, we hear from Geoff van Sonsbeeck, on womenswear brand Baukjen’s packaging approach.
The wonders of online communication mean we’ve been to the United States, Jordan, Uganda, Canada and Ghana in the last nine episodes. We’ve talked to a start-up looking for funding, two social enterprises, two charities, a community cooperative, and several businesses that have been growing for 15-20 years.
If we look at the circular economy strategies of these organisations: five are helping to ‘Close the Loop and Regenerate’, two are ‘Slowing the Flow’ of materials through more durable, circular designs, and two are ‘Intensifying the Flow’ through sharing services.
We’ll also look at how these different organisations are creating value for different groups – for their customers, suppliers, employees, communities – and for our planet.

Circular Economy Podcast Episode 29 - Mabel Suglo of Dignified Wear

Episode 29 – Mabel Suglo of Dignified Wear

In this episode, we’re talking to Mabel Suglo, the founder of Dignified Wear, a social enterprise in Ghana. It aims to economically empower people with disabilities and rural women through decent jobs. It trains and then employs them to handcraft durable, versatile and fashionable shoes, handbags, locally woven fabrics, clothing and traditional jewellery.

Circular Economy Podcast Episode 28 Chris Diplock - The Thingery

Episode 28 (revised) Chris Diplock – The Thingery

Chris Diplock is the Founder and CEO of The Thingery, the parent organization of neighbourhood Thingery branches, and a leader in Vancouver’s collaborative economy. You could describe the Thingery as a ‘library in a box’ – the box being a shipping container! The containers are solar-powered and so can be sited in disused spaces near the communities that will use them. Technology allows people to access the container and then use the built-in systems to easily log what they are borrowing or returning. That means it is less reliant on volunteers, and can be open 24/7 if needed. Chris wants to make it easy for any community, worldwide, to set up their own Library of Things. We hear about the concept, the funding model, and the practicalities.

Circular Economy Podcast Episode 27 - Chris Hellawell Edinburgh Tool Library

Episode 27 Chris Hellawell – Edinburgh Tool Library

Chris Hellawell is founder and director of Edinburgh Tool Library, which works like a lending library, sharing tools rather than books.
Chris is passionate about the concept of sharing as a way to tackle the climate crisis, and also as a way to save money, and to build social connections in communities. By sharing, everyone is richer.
The Edinburgh Tool Library started out as a set of shelves in a spare room. Now it’s a city-wide organisation with multiple sites, including a tool maintenance depot, two wood workshops, a library and a police box. The Library runs classes, youth programming, skills development for disadvantaged groups, and a volunteer programme transforming community spaces throughout the city.

Circular Economy Podcast Episode 25 Geoff van Sonsbeeck - Baukjen

Episode 25 Geoff van Sonsbeeck – Baukjen

Geoff van Sonsbeeck is the Co-Founder and CEO behind the direct to consumer womenswear brands BAUKJEN and ISABELLA OLIVER, and has been at the forefront of the slow, sustainable fashion movement for over 15 years.
We talk about how the two brands are building on their durable and timeless design ethos and evolving a range of circular practices. These include takeback schemes, resale, and rental. Baukjen is also switching to more sustainable fabrics – even moving away from organic cotton.
We also discuss how consumer attitudes are changing, including the growing interest in fashion rental.

Circular Economy Podcast Ep 24 Steve Haskew of Circular Computing

Episode 24 – Steve Haskew of Circular Computing

Remanufacturing is one of the circular economy strategies that helps us keep products, components and materials ‘in the system. It means we can have high-quality, reliable products and equipment with pretty much the same performance as a new version – and costing significantly less – for the customer, society and our environment.
In today’s episode, I’m talking to Steve Haskew of Circular Computing, which remanufactures high-quality top-brand laptops, including Dell, HP and Lenovo. They are certified carbon-neutral, with performance tested as providing 97 per cent compared to a new model.
Circular Computing has been remanufacturing since the 1990s, and provides laptops to education, public sector and even direct to consumers. Every machine goes through a 100+ point-check, any worn components are replaced and selected components are upgraded to give them a performance boost.
The company now has over 250 staff and remanufacturing capacity of up to 10,000 units each month. We talk about the customer value proposition, and how remanufacturing is different to second-use products.

Circular Economy Podcast Episode 23 Andy Bownds Eco Brixs

Episode 23 Andy Bownds – Eco Brixs

EcoBrixs Mission is “To create green, environmentally friendly, sustainable solutions to lift people out of abject poverty in Uganda”, and it does that by giving trash – waste plastic – a value. That means anyone in the community can recycle.
Eco Brixs started out in 2017. Frustrated with the lack of waste management systems in Masaka, Andy Bownds and his team started collecting plastic in his back garden, and after collecting 2 tonnes, decided to start a simple plastic collection facility called ‘Masaka Recycling Initiative’.
They went further, creating a circular economy solution to recycle plastic which would help support the local communities and economy. They developed an innovative plastic-sand composite paver which has been proven to be stronger, lighter and more durable than concrete. Fast-forward to 2019, and Masaka Recycling Initiative has now evolved into ‘Eco Brixs’, one of the largest recycling facilities outside of Kampala.