Plastic Collective: Empowering communities to use plastic as a commodity

In this episode, hosted by Lottie Dalziel, we chat with Louise Hardman from "Plastic Collective" about what sustainability means to her as well as Louise's vision for her unique and innovative organisation moving forward. She challenges traditional notions of sustainability to develop meaningful solutions that go above and beyond. Her hope is to make sustainability the very first thing that is considered in manufacturing, development and innovation instead of being an afterthought.

Louise is a scientist, educator, innovator and the Founder of Plastic Collective. She is the inventor of the Shruder, a mobile recycling machine that shreds and extrudes plastic on the spot. The Shruder operates in remote and rural communities where it helps transform the plastic waste created by communities into products ranging from building blocks to baskets. These products then act as a source of revenue for the community. 

Louise explains exactly how the Plastic Collective is empowering remote and regional communities in the Asia-Pacific by adding value to plastic and providing them with the resources to turn their plastic waste into usable products. She also sheds some light on Plastic Collective's plastic credit system and how it is helping to fund projects in these remote communities and puts systems in place to help them manage plastic pollution.

Louise also shares her eye opening views on what actions are required to take the next step past sustainability. She believes that we must build communities that push the boundaries of what sustainability can be so that communities grow and thrive whilst also remaining sustainable, defining this next step as "thrive ability". 

Want to find out more? Listen to the full episode on Spotify or Apple Podcast.