Reloop Brief

In this episode, Shraddha Kumar continues her conversation with Emily Alfred from the Toronto Environmental Alliance , looking at what major events can teach us about reuse in practice. While full reuse did not make it into FIFA stadiums for the World Cup, there were still important lessons from the ground, from waste sorting efforts at fan sites to reusable systems at Pride Toronto and Live Natio...

What can the world's biggest sporting events teach us about making reuse work? ♻️ In this episode, Shraddha Kumar speaks with Emily Alfred, Senior Waste Campaigner at the Toronto Environmental Alliance , about the lessons learned from FIFA-related reuse efforts in Canada. The conversation explores why Toronto and Vancouver faced challenges implementing reuse systems at FIFA venues, while also high...

In this episode of The Reloop Brief , Shraddha Kumar speaks with Rob Kelman, Reloop Pacific Director, about Australia’s 20 Cents Makes Sense campaign and the push to increase container refund values from 10 cents to 20 cents. Rob explains why refund value matters, how Australia’s container deposit schemes compare with higher-performing systems internationally, and why return rates risk stagnating...

In this episode of the Reloop Brief, Barry Snedden speaks with Ciaran Foley from Re-turn about how Ireland’s deposit system is performing just over two years after launch. They discuss the strong progress the scheme has made, including overall container collection now exceeding 90% when mixed recycling is included, a sharp drop in litter and the growing role communities are playing in making the s...

Single-use coffee cups have become a major contributor to city waste streams. Around 500 billion single-use cups are disposed of globally every year , and cities spend roughly 30–50% of their urban litter budgets managing single-use waste. In this extended episode of the Reloop Brief , Barry Snedden speaks with Jenni Hume, who joined Zero Waste Europe’s study tour examining reusable cup systems in...

In this year-end special, we rewind through an eventful 2025—the year that Reloop turned ten and The Reloop Brief began. Host, Barry Snedden revisits standout moments from the season: activist Merijn “Plastic Soup Surfer” Tinga live from his paddleboard; Jackie Núñez on moving beyond “straws” to system change; Reloop CEO Clarissa Morawski on hard data proving deposits cut beverage litter; Data &am...

In this episode, Barry Snedden takes us behind the scenes with Jason Wilcox, Reloop’s Data & Dashboard Manager, to see how evidence turns into action. Jason explains the goals of Reloop's two live dashboards: What We Waste and the Global Deposit Dashboard . They discuss the work that goes into building these interactive tools: consolidating disparate spreadsheets, analysing from a “bird’s-eye...

Spain is on the cusp of introducing a national deposit return system for beverage containers by 2026. In this episode, Barry Snedden sits down with Miquel Roset, Director of Retorna, to discuss what must happen next to deliver the DRS on time. They also touch on Portugal’s newly announced DRS start date and why Iberian momentum matters, Retorna’s work co-founding the Global DRS Platform to support...

For this episode, we visit France as Shraddha Kumar checks in with Reloop’s Director for France and Francophonie, Alexis Eisenberg. Together, they cover why a national deposit return system is still pending, how a major pilot is rolling out across four regions, and what Reloop's Tour de France de la consigne revealed about the future of reuse and recycling. Plus, how the EU’s new packaging rules (...

To mark Reloop’s 10th anniversary EU Green Week event— Reloop Unpacks —we asked participants two simple questions: What will the next 10 years bring for the circular economy and for Reloop? What were your key takeaways? In this recap, you’ll hear insights from conference attendees, from Deutsche Umwelthilfe , Fair Resource Foundation , Eunomia , and Retorna . Themes converge on a practical roadmap...

In this episode of the Reloop Brief, Shraddha Kumar catches up with Reloop's Director for the Pacific, Rob Kelman, on the latest from Australia. With several states expanding existing schemes to include wine & spirit bottles in container deposit schemes (and what that means for curbside costs and glass quality), to Tasmania’s strong early returns (~30 million containers since May 2025) and why...

In this special episode of the Reloop Brief, we listen in on the Reloop Unpacks conference held in Brussels in June 2025. Clarissa Morawski moderates a fast-moving panel on how digital and AI tools are reshaping the way we track, sort, and return materials in a circular economy. Panellists include Weronika Czaplewska (COO & Co-Founder, Envirly), Stéphane Cren (Head of Innovation, GS1 France),...

In this episode of the Reloop Brief, Barry Snedden checks in with Joe Papineschi, Chairperson for Eunomia Research & Consulting, for a post-INC 5.2 debrief. They unpack why the plastics treaty negotiations ended without a deal, what actually moved forward, and how the Chair’s draft text was received (first, an over-watered proposal that was rejected by all sides, then a still-compromised frame...

In this episode of the Reloop Brief, Shraddha Kumar is joined by Marian Ledesma, Zero Waste Campaigner for Greenpeace Philippines, to unpack the complex reality of sachet economies. Marian explains how small, multilayered plastic packets, ubiquitous across South and Southeast Asia, have become a symbol of both corporate convenience and systemic inequality. The conversation explores how producers d...

As INC-5.2 approaches, we take a closer look at one of the most talked-about ideas in the global plastic treaty negotiations: a primary plastic polymer fee. What is it, how would it work, and why does it matter? In this special extended episode of the Reloop Brief, host Barry Snedden speaks with Hugo Schally, retired European Commission official and former lead EU negotiator on plastics, Oliver Bo...

To mark Reloop’s 10th anniversary, Barry Snedden sits down with CEO and co-founder Clarissa Morawski for a look back at the organisation's first decade. From navigating a changing EU policy landscape to pushing ambitious circular economy legislation, Clarissa shares key milestones in Reloop’s journey. Clarissa recounts Reloop's role in shaping the Single-Use Plastics Directive and advancing the EU...

To mark 10 years of Reloop, we’re going back to where it all started. In this two-part anniversary series, host Barry Snedden speaks with Reloop’s CEO and co-founder, Clarissa Morawski, to explore the origins of the organisation and the values that have shaped it. In Part 1, we hear how Clarissa’s roots in Canadian environmental consulting and her love of data storytelling laid the foundation for...

In this episode of The Reloop Brief, we explore the global decline of reusable beverage containers and what can be done to reverse it. Barry Snedden is joined by Anna Larsson, Reloop’s Circular Economy Development Director, who unpacks the reasons behind the shift toward single-use packaging, the role of deposit return systems in supporting reuse, and how upcoming EU regulations could help turn th...

In this episode, we head to Rhode Island (USA), where the new Senate Bill 996 and House Bill 6207 are setting out to change how the state handles packaging waste and litter. Senator Mark McKenney, the bill’s sponsor, speaks to Jenni Hume about how two proven tools, Extended Producer Responsibility and Deposit Return Systems for beverage containers, can help protect the Ocean State’s natural beauty...

In this special episode, Barry Snedden sits down with Reloop CEO Clarissa Morawski to dive into the hard facts on beverage container litter, and the most effective solution we have at our disposal today: deposit return systems. Drawing from Reloop’s newly released factsheet, Littered with evidence: Proof that deposit systems work , Clarissa explains how DRS is an effective tool in reducing contain...

In this special episode of the Reloop Brief, we catch up, live from a paddleboard , with Merijn Tinga, also known as the Plastic Soup Surfer, during his expedition from Paris to Nice for the UN Ocean Conference. Merijn shares how his creative activism, surfing on a board made of plastic bottles, sparked a national movement that helped advance and expand a deposit return system in the Netherlands....

In this episode of The Reloop Brief, we’re taking a quick look at Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) – what it is, how it started and where it's heading – with insights from Anna Larsson, Reloop’s Circular Economy Development Director. We look at how EPR has evolved across Europe, explore what’s driving current trends and discuss one of its most critical elements: financing. It’s a key part of...

In this episode of the Reloop Brief, we head to Toronto to sit down with Karen Wirsig, Senior Program Manager for Plastics at Environmental Defence . Karen shares insights on Canada’s current plastics policy landscape, the role of public opinion in shaping federal action and talks about why stronger enforcement and reuse infrastructure are essential for tackling single-use packaging. A recent poll...

In this episode, Barry Snedden is joined by Anna Larsson, Reloop’s Director of Circular Economy Development, to explore the critical role of mixed waste sorting in boosting recycling rates and reducing emissions. Anna explains why focusing only on source-separated recyclables like bottles and cans isn't enough anymore. Valuable materials are still hidden in black bags, and mixed waste sorting is t...

In this episode Reloop's Global Networks Director, Jenni Hume, speaks with Blair Horner from the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) about efforts to modernise New York’s deposit return system (known as the Bottle Bill), which was enacted in 1982. As the state faces mounting waste and landfill challenges, advocates are calling for a "Bigger, Better Bottle Bill" that includes expanding...