Reuse, Reuse, Reuse! How a Tradititional Concept Can Help Reduce Plastic Waste

Reuse, Reuse, Reuse! How a Tradititional Concept Can Help Reduce Plastic Waste

From Plastisphere: A podcast on plastic pollution in the environment by Anja Krieger

November 26, 2025 · 27 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the importance of reuse in reducing plastic waste, featuring insights from experts in the field.

You’ve probably heard the mantra of reduce, reuse, recycle. And oftentimes, it’s that last word, recycle, that we think of when looking to solve plastic pollution. But the order of that mantra has a deeper meaning, it’s a hierachy, sorted by priorities. So to reduce the waste we produce, the first and best way is to reduce what we use. If that’s not possible, the second best option is to reuse, to repair, or repurpose. Only if if that is not viable anymore should we consider recycling. We already discussed these steps towards a circular economy in our previous episode. In this follow-up, we’ll take a look at reuse with Froilan Grate, the Asia-Pacific Director of the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), based in the Philippines, and Salisa Traipipitsiriwat from Thailand, a Senior Campaigner at the Environmental Justice Foundation, also part of GAIA. Intro in Thai by Salisa.

People in this episode

Host: Anja Krieger

Guests: Froilan Grate, Salisa Traipipitsiriwat

Topics covered

  • plastic pollution
  • reuse
  • circular economy
  • waste reduction
  • environmental justice

Keywords

  • reduce
  • reuse
  • recycle
  • plastic waste
  • circular economy
  • environmental justice
  • GAIA

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, Environmental Justice Foundation

Places: Philippines, Thailand

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