The "Why" of Plastics with John Skabardonis
From Redefining Plastics by Justin Riney
May 26, 2026 · 55 min · Season 1 · Episode 53
About this episode
The episode discusses how to effectively communicate plastics-related issues to non-technical audiences with guest John Skabardonis.
Host Justin Riney welcomes John Skabardonis, a PhD chemist turned marketer who recently retired from corporate life and now runs Optimist Consulting and writes the Tech Nuggets newsletter. They discuss how technical experts can better reach non-technical audiences through “scientific storytelling,” doing audience homework, and improving delivery (including Toastmasters) so messages resonate. The conversation focuses on plastics industry marketing failures, fear marketing (e.g., “BPA-free”), chemophobia, and the need to frame issues in terms of risk rather than jargon. John recounts Bayer/Covestro’s BPA water-bottle controversy, argues human behavior drives problems like pollution and PFAS exposure, critiques microplastics headlines and contamination, and calls for coordinated, grassroots, multi-platform advocacy—also noting the importance of accurate AI data sources. They close with mentions of SPE, mentoring, and how to find Tech Nuggets on LinkedIn. John Skabardonis https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/tech-nuggets-7426792352763056128/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnskabardonis/ Redefining Plastics https://www.redefiningplastics.com/ https://www.brvind.com/redefining-plastics…
People in this episode
Host: Justin Riney
Guest: John Skabardonis
Topics covered
- scientific storytelling
- plastics industry marketing
- risk communication
- pollution
- PFAS exposure
- microplastics
- AI data sources
Keywords
- plastics
- marketing
- scientific storytelling
- BPA
- chemophobia
- microplastics
- pollution
- advocacy
- AI data
- risk communication
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Optimist Consulting, Tech Nuggets, Bayer/Covestro, SPE
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