Plastics are everywhere – but can they ever be truly sustainable? In this episode, host Joe Hanson asks how plastics fit into a circular economy – a system designed to minimize waste and maximize resource efficiency. From the familiar mantra of reduce, reuse, recycle to innovative strategies that go far beyond recycling, this conversation dives into what it takes to create a sustainable future for plastics and how waste can become a resource.

Joe hears from Talke Schaffrannek of BASF on driving circular solutions and of Jabir Karat, the founder of the recycling facility Green Worms, on tackling waste challenges in rural India.

Jabir Karat, a social entrepreneur from Kerala, describes how he saw plastic waste as both a problem and an opportunity to create employment and reduce poverty whilst reducing waste. His efforts highlight the urgent need for infrastructure and innovative solutions to prevent valuable resources from ending up in landfills.

Talke Schaffrannek, Director of Circular Economy at BASF, shares how becoming a parent made her think deeply about the future and the resources we are handing over to the next generation. Talke emphasizes her role in driving BASF’s transformation toward circular solutions, leveraging the company’s innovative power and responsibility to change processes and resource intake.

Discover why circularity is more than recycling and how innovative solutions can shape a greener and better future.

If you have just joined SUBSTANCE, check out Episode 2 which shines a light on chemical recycling, a cutting-edge approach that could give new life to plastics that are currently considered unrecyclable – like the complex mix of materials found in old cars.

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More info about this episode: www.basf.com/substance-podcast

SUBSTANCE is a podcast by BASF,

Plastic is one of the most transformative materials of the modern age. It’s in our cars, our homes, and our clothes. Lightweight, durable, and endlessly moldable, plastic has revolutionized manufacturing and design across nearly every industry. But this material comes with a serious downside: it’s incredibly difficult to dispose of in the right way.

For this episode, host Joe Hanson is joined by two experts who are working on just that. Matthias Kuba, Professor at BOKU University and Area Manager Syngas Platform Technologies at BEST in Vienna, and Wiebke Speckels, sustainability expert at BASF, share their vision for a future where plastic waste isn’t burned or landfilled, but recycled and used as new feedstock Their work focuses on chemical recycling, a cutting-edge approach that could give new life to plastics that are currently considered unrecyclable – like the complex mix of materials found in old cars.

Over the next two episodes of SUBSTANCE, Joe Hanson offers a compelling look at how we might reshape our relationship with plastic and build a more sustainable world in the process.

You can find more information here: https://www.basf.com/global/en/media/magazine/creatingchemistrystories/podcasts

SUBSTANCE is a podcast by BASF, produced by TERRITORY Agency, in collaboration with Wake Word and Joe Hanson. Research and scripting by Danielle Sedbrook, Claudia Doyle, Hardy Röde and Joe Hanson.

Researchers and companies around the globe are racing to tap into an invisible resource seen as a beacon of hope for achieving climate neutrality—hydrogen. Could the key to a green transformation lie beneath our very feet?

In this first episode of SUBSTANCE, host Joe Hanson dives into the surprising and wide-ranging story of hydrogen: from its role in the origins of life to its place in today’s energy transition. Along the way, we meet the scientists and engineers who are rethinking what this element means for society, industry, and a sustainable future.

With his guests, earth scientist Prof. Barbara Sherwood Lollar (University of Toronto), geochemist Olivier Sissmann (IFP Énergies Nouvelles), and production manager Volker Ehret (BASF) host Joe Hanson discusses some of humanity’s most pressing questions:

How can we decarbonize industry?

Substance.

Subscribe now so you’ll never miss an episode.

SUBSTANCE is a podcast by BASF, produced by TERRITORY Agency, in collaboration with Wake Word and Joe Hanson. Research and scripting by Danielle Sedbrook, Claudia Doyle, Hardy Röde and Joe Hanson.

SUBSTANCE is a monthly podcast exploring the materials that shape our world. From hydrogen and plastic to fabric and fungi, each episode unpacks one essential substance — revealing its influence on our world and the surprising innovations that could redefine its role in our lives.

Curious about more stories? Read our online magazine Creating Chemistry: basf.com/creating-chemistry-magazine

SUBSTANCE is a podcast by BASF,