This article is a summary of the podcast conversation 30. “Giving Plastic Waste a Second Life Through Recycling”. Listen to the full episode on Spotify podcasts or Apple podcasts, and go here for the relevant links mentioned in the podcast. Read on for the summarised topics from the episode.

Giving Plastic Waste a Second Life Through Recycling

Let’s talk about plastic. We see it everywhere, even in places it probably shouldn’t be. And while we all want to do the right thing by tossing it in the recycling bin, the truth is, plastic recycling is a lot more complex than it seems.

To help untangle that complexity, I’m joined by Jess Hodge co-founder of Resourceful Living. Jess and her team are tackling the plastic problem head on, by turning unwanted plastic items into functional products, all made locally in Kurri Kurri NSW Australia.

Jess brings honesty, passion and deep knowledge to this conversation, along with practical solutions that actually make sense.

So if you’ve ever wondered what type of plastic is which, where it really ends up, or how we can give waste a second life through circular economy principles – you’re in the right place.

Overview of the Conversation

First step is to sort through the plastics

The plastic recycling business all began with two turning points: seeing the scale of plastic waste while holidaying in South East Asia, and watching ABC’s War on Waste
Building a legacy that shows they’re acting on waste today, not stockpiling for tomorrow
Join me on an audio tour of the facility, from sorting to production, to discover what recycling plastics looks and sounds like in action.
Learn about the differences in plastics eg polypropylene, HDPE, soft plastics, and understand what plastics are best for different applications

“Personally [soft plastics are] not one of our favourites because it’s quite flexible but we like to show that we can make a variety of different products with it anyway.”

Second step is to sort the plastics by colour

Volumes of plastics
Ethical thinking of plastic reuse: One of their biggest challenges is when they receive items that are 100% functional—perfectly fine, not broken—yet destined for shredding. It raises real questions about waste, value, and responsibility.

There is so much plastic already in our world that we will never be able to recycle ourselves out of it.

Circular economy principles:
- Buy-return cycle
- 100% plastic remanufacturing: Keeping products a single plastic type ensures they can be recycled again and again.
- On-site shredding: A mobile shipping container allows waste to be processed where it’s created, reducing storage needs “we just want to make it really accessible that people aren’t storing waste”
- Construction industry focus: they create a whole circular motion “of bringing in the old, get new, bring it back, get new. And when I say new, it’s all recycled”.

Jess’ two tips for plastic reduction and plastic recycling

✓ When shopping, pause and ask: do I really need this? If yes, choose the most sustainable option you can because we don’t need any more virgin plastic in circulation

✓ If you want recycling to work, buy recycled. Do your research and choose products made from recycled content – it’s the only way to close the loop.

This episode of The ReNewy Living Podcast was recorded on Awabakal country. I wish to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land and waters in the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie region of New South Wales.

I hope you’re feeling more confident about doing better for our people and planet by taking a start where you live approach to living sustainably. If this episode has spurred you into action, please feel free to share the episode with your friends. It would mean the world to me!

Listen into the stories and voices of this story here at Spotify podcasts and here at Apple Podcasts… And you can also sign up to my regular emails here… I look forward to sharing more stories with you next time.

Apple Podcasts ↓