Reloop Brief

What happened to England’s proposed Circular Economy Growth Plan, and will it ever see the light of day?

In this episode of The Reloop Brief, Libby Peake, senior fellow and head of resource policy at Green Alliance, discusses her work on the government’s Circular Economy Task Force and how political changes and repeated delays have left the plan’s future uncertain.

The conversation also explores what businesses need from government to invest in a more circular economy, the challenges facing packaging EPR and why policy must look beyond recycling to focus more strongly on reduction and reuse.

Finally, Libby shares the experiences behind her blog, 'Buying five reused items saved me £3.5k', and considers how online platforms can make buying used and refurbished products easier, more affordable and more appealing.

In this episode of the Reloop Brief, Shraddha Kumar speaks with Sophie Langlois-Blouin of Machinex, recorded at the Canadian EPR Forum in Québec City.

With Québec approaching the final phase of its deposit return system modernization, Sophie looks back at how the system has evolved — from expanded beverage-container coverage and higher deposit values to the development of a more convenient, one-stop return experience for consumers.

The conversation also explores the role of technology in that transition. Sophie explains how Machinex is using AI-driven bulk recognition to make returns faster and simpler, while giving operators greater flexibility in how containers are collected and processed.

Looking beyond Québec, the episode considers what other jurisdictions can learn from the province’s experience — and why successful DRS design starts with learning from others, understanding local realities, and putting consumer convenience at the centre.

In this episode of The Reloop Brief, Shraddha Kumar speaks with Susan Collins, President of the Container Recycling Institute, about bottle bill modernization in the United States.

The conversation begins with the state of Connecticut, where the beverage container redemption rate rose from 44% in 2023 to 92% in 2025 following a series of program changes, including expanded beverage coverage, a higher deposit value, and more redemption access.

Susan explains why these updates matter, what they reveal about the importance of convenience and system design, and how policymakers should understand concerns around under-reporting, cross-border returns, and free-riding without losing sight of the broader gains.

The episode also looks at modernization efforts in other U.S. bottle bill states, including Maine, Vermont, and California, and what these developments could mean for the future of beverage container recycling.

What if repairing a broken product was the easiest option rather than the last resort?

In the latest episode of The Reloop Brief, Fiona Dear, UK Co-Director of The Restart Project, discusses the barriers that make repair harder than it needs to be and the growing movement to change that.

The conversation covers everything from repair cafés and community initiatives to repair vouchers, right-to-repair legislation, and the need to rebuild repair skills across society. Fiona explains how product design, policy reform and investment in skills can help keep products in use for longer, reducing waste and making repair a more practical option for households and businesses alike.

As momentum builds behind right-to-repair policies in Europe and beyond, the episode also explores what governments can do to support repair businesses, strengthen local economies and accelerate the transition to a more circular economy.

How do you keep a deposit return system relevant after more than 40 years?

In this episode of The Reloop Brief, we speak with Sara Wester Bergendorff from Sweden's deposit return system, Returpack/Pantamera

With return rates approaching 90%, Pantamera has become known for combining effective communications with smart system design. Sara explains how humour, education, social media and even music have helped make returning bottles and cans a normal part of everyday life in Sweden.

We also discuss Sweden's recent achievement in becoming one of the first countries to receive RecyClass certification, what this means for traceability and material quality and why deposit return systems are uniquely placed to deliver high-quality recycled material for a circular economy.

And yes, there's also time to talk about Pantamera's famous music campaigns, including their latest collaboration with Eurovision legends Lordi.

Can reusable packaging become mainstream reality?

In this episode of The Reloop Brief, Barry Snedden speaks with Sam Pearce, Campaigns Director at The Story of Stuff Project, about the organisation's new animation exploring what a large-scale reusable beverage system could look like.

Drawing on research conducted with Eunomia, Sam explains how shifting just 25% of California's beverage market to reusable containers could remove billions of single-use bottles, create more than 11,000 jobs, and significantly reduce waste and emissions. The conversation also explores a new global reuse symbol, lessons from successful refillable systems around the world, and how reuse and deposit return systems can work together to support a more circular economy.

A hopeful and practical discussion about one of the biggest opportunities to reduce packaging waste.

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 Nation’s rollout of reusable cups across major outdoor venues in Toronto.

As Emily explains, better waste sorting is important, but it also shows just how much staff time and effort goes into managing single-use packaging once it has already been created.

Part one of the conversation is available on the previous episode.

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 highlighting the practical wins beyond the stadiums, including successful fan festival initiatives and the momentum they're creating for future mega-events.

In the next episode of the Reloop Brief, we'll look beyond FIFA to showcase existing reuse systems across Canada and the real-world successes already happening today.

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 without stronger incentives. The conversation also explores the broader packaging reform context in Australia, including the links between deposit return, extended producer responsibility, recycled material supply, and economic resilience.

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 system a success.

The conversation also looks ahead to how Ireland can improve convenience, drive more returns through education and continue building support for separate collection over mixed recycling.

From charity donations and community fundraising to digital refund options and questions around unredeemed deposits, they explore both the achievements and the potential for Ireland’s DRS as it continues to evolve.