Circular Economy Podcast

174 Sydney Harris and Jennifer Carrigan of Upstream: effective, equitable reuse systems

We learn about driving change towards an effective, efficient and fair reuse economy, with Sydney Harris and Jennifer Carrigan of Upstream, a nonprofit that works to support sustainable, equitable reuse systems across North America. Upstream works to normalise reuse, to support the expansion of the reuse sector, and to help create supportive policy measures. It was founded over 20 years ago, and is seen as an early visionary, realising that reuse is better from an economic perspective as well as better for people and planet. Upstream works across industry sectors in the US and Canada.

173 Giulio Bonazzi of Aquafil – pioneering regenerative nylon

Giulio Bonazzi is the visionary leader of Aquafil, a global pioneer in circular materials including Econyl Regenerated Nylon. Giulio has been transforming Aquafil from a conventional manufacturer into a pioneer of circular design, and he tells us about the process of creating premium-quality polyamide from a wide range of nylon waste streams, including fishing nets, old carpets, and fabric scraps.

From the archives – episode 119 with Ken Webster: why we need to talk about the circular ECONOMY!

To close out 2025, I’d like to revisit a critical aspect that’s being ignored - the economy itself. Ken Webster is a leading thinker in the circular economy field, and one of his many roles is with Earth4All, where he has been exploring the benefits of a Universal Basic Dividend. Ken and Catherine discussed this, and more aspects of circularity at an economic level back in 2023, and it’s highly relevant today, as the challenges we face loom larger.

172 (Part 2) Tom Llewellyn of Shareable: how sharing and cooperative projects help us thrive

This is the 2nd part of my conversation with Tom Llewellyn of Shareable, an organization that collaborates with others to imagine, resource, network, and scale cooperative projects. • We hear about Shareable's How-To Guides, which cover a vast range of topics from how to reduce food waste to starting mutual aid funds, and Tom explains how sharing initiatives are starting to be included in city and local government policies. • And Tom offers his top tips for how we can get started with sharing and other initiatives, to improve our resilience and build stronger communities. If you didn’t catch the first episode, head back to that if you’d like to hear why Shareable has pivoted from storytelling to focus on supporting groups to replicate successful sharing solutions, what Tom sees as the key challenges around sharing, and the importance of storytelling – including the misleading narratives used by most of the media, and how these undermine our resilience.

172 Tom Llewellyn of Shareable: how sharing and cooperative projects help us thrive

We discuss the importance of sharing and its many benefits with Tom Llewellyn, the Executive Director of Shareable, which collaborates with others to imagine, resource, network, and scale cooperative projects. Tom helps communities develop Libraries of Things (LoTs) and other forms of low-cost, environmentally friendly social infrastructure that help people meet their material needs. Tom’s current work includes expanding these sharing initiatives into housing developments, universities, and post-disaster recovery areas. He also serves as executive producer and host of the award-winning documentary film and podcast series The Response, producer of the Cities@Tufts Podcast, and communications lead for the Rural Power Coalition. Tom has co-founded several community- and sharing-based initiatives, including: A PLACE for Sustainable Living, Asheville Tool Library, REAL Cooperative (Regenerative Education, Action & Leadership), and the worker collective Critter Cafe. Shareable wants to see a just, connected, and joyful world where sharing is daily practice and communities flourish. Its current focus is on sharing hubs & infrastructure, Mutual Aid projects, and supporting and strengthening democratic, community-controlled cooperative businesses and organizations. We covered a lot, and so the conversation is split into two episodes. In Part 1, we hear why Shareable has pivoted from storytelling to engagement and support for groups to replicate successful sharing solutions. We discuss some of the key challenges and barriers to sharing, and what we can gain from sharing and other forms of mutual support We talk about a few different types of sharing initiatives, including community infrastructure projects. Tom explains the importance of storytelling, particularly in the context of disasters, and how the media often uses narratives that undermine our natural resilience and willingness to support each other. In Part 2 (available now), we cover the How To Guides, which cover a vast range of topics from how to reduce food waste to starting mutual aid funds, and Tom’s tips on how to get things started. You can hear my takeaways at the end of each section.