This episode brings together a multidisciplinary team working on a Biopackaging Consortia project led by the echo network. Featuring voices from academia, industry, and research—including Tridha Gajjar from National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, Anders from Technical University of Denmark (DTU), and Sunitha from LoopM Alternatives and Sreeraghavi, the PhD Fellow from NID — the conversation explores how agricultural waste can be transformed into sustainable packaging solutions.

What begins as a materials innovation project quickly expands into a much larger systems challenge. The team discusses the intersection of design, material science, agriculture, and the circular economy—highlighting how crop residue burning, plastic dependency, and lack of scalable infrastructure are deeply interconnected issues.

Together they unpack why plastics dominate (cost, durability, scalability), and why replacing them isn’t straightforward. Listen to the full episode here.