Plastiskul
So Science
Conserve India
Precious Plastic
Fablabs

Plastic pollution is killing wildlife, strangling our waterways and ruining our beaches and is now seeping up through the food chain and, voila, being served with our food.
This is the Pristine Ocean Podcast. My name is Peter Hall. Each episode, we hear from change makers fighting the scourge of plastic pollution.

Let's talk about the circular economy. I think most people understand that if we are going to continue to benefit from the usefulness of plastic, that burning, burying or dumping is simply not sustainable. We need to feed plastic waste back into the plastic production chain, ideally to the point where we need little or no new plastic material to be created.

An interesting player in the circular economy space is Plastiskul. Plastiskul provides the tools and knowhow for entrepreneurs to create business models around upcycling plastic waste into useful products like furniture and tiles. The fascinating thing about Plastiskul, is that it is run by young professionals with experience in the waste industry and who live in the countries heavily impacted by plastic pollution.

We spoke to Kanika Ahuja about Plastiskul.

Transcript of interview with Kanika Ahuja, Co-founder of Plastiskul

Environmental Investigation Agency
United Nations Treaty to End Plastic Pollution

Get in contact
peter.hall@pristineocean.global


You are probably aware of some of the challenges in finding a solution to the plastic crisis the world is facing. 

3 challenges in no particular order come to mind:

Challenge 1: Data. You’ve probably heard the phrase, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it” which certainly applies to  plastic waste management. But we can’t measure it because we don’t have the data about how much plastic is being produced, how much waste is exported, how much imported and after that it becomes a guessing game about how much actually lands in the ocean. 

Challenge 2: Laws. Packaging companies need a level playing field so that if they improve the environmental friendliness of their products, that this does not put them at a commercial disadvantage. 

Challenge 3: Finance. Waste management infrastructure will have to be expanded in the countries that can least afford it.

All these challenges would be complicated enough for one country. But to be effective, all countries need to be aboard. These challenges have to be addressed globally.

Did you know, that the United Nations is working on a treaty to solve these issues? In March 2022, the UN Member States endorsed the UN Environment Programme 5 which is a resolution to End Plastic Pollution with the intention to have a full resolution in 2024.

Today we are talking to someone who is deeply involved in the negotiations to formulate that resolution. She is Christina Dixon from the Environmental Investigation Agency or EIA. She is fighting for the planet.

We talked about the urgency of the treaty and the similarities to efforts to manage the climate crisis and whether the treaty can be thought of a type of Paris for Plastics.

Full Interview

Plastics For Change
Hasiru Dala


One day, a waste worker  collecting plastic in his neighborhood in Bangalore in Southern India, was bitten by a dog. He fell ill and was not able to work for the following two weeks.

His only income was what the local scrap shop paid for what he collected. Without any savings, he was unable to put food on the table placing his family in a precarious position.

On the other side of the world, brands such as The Body Shop, are willing to pay for recovered plastic to include in their products. But they want plastic to be collected under fair conditions.

Today we were talking to. Almac from the organization, Plastics for Change.

He is making a change by applying fair trade principles to the collection of plastic waste in Bangalore.

Full transcript