Reloop Brief

In this episode of The Reloop Brief, Shraddha Kumar speaks with Rob Kelman, Reloop Pacific Director, about Australia’s 20 Cents Makes Sense campaign and the push to increase container refund values from 10 cents to 20 cents.Rob explains why refund value matters, how Australia’s container deposit schemes compare with higher-performing systems internationally, and why return rates risk stagnating without stronger incentives. The conversation also explores the broader packaging reform context in Australia, including the links between deposit return, extended producer responsibility, recycled material supply, and economic resilience.

Single-use coffee cups have become a major contributor to city waste streams. Around 500 billion single-use cups are disposed of globally every year, and cities spend roughly 30–50% of their urban litter budgets managing single-use waste.In this extended episode of the Reloop Brief, Barry Snedden speaks with Jenni Hume, who joined Zero Waste Europe’s study tour examining reusable cup systems in Copenhagen and Aarhus. The trip brought together around 70 participants, including NGOs, European city officials, industry stakeholders and reuse experts.The episode also features the audience Q&A recorded after the first screening of a new short film produced by Reloop and the Marine Conservation Society. The film takes a closer look at how the REUSABLE cup system in Aarhus operates alongside Denmark’s deposit return system.The panel includes Simon Rossau from the REUSABLE system in Aarhus, Stine Ullmann-Poulsen from Dansk Retursystem, and Catherine Gemmell-Simpson from the Marine Conservation Society.To view the three films produced as part of this project, visit reloopplatform.org/films

In this episode, Barry Snedden takes us behind the scenes with Jason Wilcox, Reloop’s Data & Dashboard Manager, to see how evidence turns into action. Jason explains the goals of Reloop's two live dashboards: What We Waste and the Global Deposit Dashboard. They discuss the work that goes into building these interactive tools: consolidating disparate spreadsheets, analysing from a “bird’s-eye view” to reveal patterns, and then using simple visuals to tell a clear story, backed by transparent, clickable sources for each data point. Jason also provides a sneak peek at his next build, aiming to quantify which policies most effectively cut litter.

For this episode, we visit France as Shraddha Kumar checks in with Reloop’s Director for France and Francophonie, Alexis Eisenberg.Together, they cover why a national deposit return system is still pending, how a major pilot is rolling out across four regions, and what Reloop's Tour de France de la consigne revealed about the future of reuse and recycling.Plus, how the EU’s new packaging rules (PPWR) fit with France’s own targets — and whether a mixed DRS could be the way forward.

In this episode of the Reloop Brief, Shraddha Kumar catches up with Reloop's Director for the Pacific, Rob Kelman, on the latest from Australia. With several states expanding existing schemes to include wine & spirit bottles in container deposit schemes (and what that means for curbside costs and glass quality), to Tasmania’s strong early returns (~30 million containers since May 2025) and why refund value and retail take-back matter for engagement. The discussion also touches on South Australia’s ban on the tiny soy-sauce fish and the case for a robust, national EPR for packaging.

In this episode of the Reloop Brief, Barry Snedden checks in with Joe Papineschi, Chairperson for Eunomia Research & Consulting, for a post-INC 5.2 debrief. They unpack why the plastics treaty negotiations ended without a deal, what actually moved forward, and how the Chair’s draft text was received (first, an over-watered proposal that was rejected by all sides, then a still-compromised framework with too many unresolved options to conclude).Joe explains the persistent polarisation since INC-2 (production limits vs. waste-only focus), the parallel fault line on financing, and why private-sector contributions, especially a primary plastic polymer fee, are gaining attention amid thin public funds. Joe sheds some light on the most plausible paths ahead.

As INC-5.2 approaches, we take a closer look at one of the most talked-about ideas in the global plastic treaty negotiations: a primary plastic polymer fee. What is it, how would it work, and why does it matter? In this special extended episode of the Reloop Brief, host Barry Snedden speaks with Hugo Schally, retired European Commission official and former lead EU negotiator on plastics, Oliver Boachie, former special advisor to Ghana’s Ministry of Environment and lead negotiator for the African group, and Clarissa Morawski, Reloop’s CEO and co-founder.Together, they explore how a small upstream fee could deliver major financing for plastic pollution solutions, especially in the Global South. They also unpack the deadlocks and divisions ahead of INC-5.2, and what might happen if the treaty falls short.

To mark 10 years of Reloop, we’re going back to where it all started. In this two-part anniversary series, host Barry Snedden speaks with Reloop’s CEO and co-founder, Clarissa Morawski, to explore the origins of the organisation and the values that have shaped it.In Part 1, we hear how Clarissa’s roots in Canadian environmental consulting and her love of data storytelling laid the foundation for Reloop’s work. We meet some of the team members who were there from the beginning and learn how Reloop went from a two-person operation to a global NGO helping shape circular economy policy around the world.With stories from Barcelona, Ontario, and Poland, this episode paints a picture of Reloop's bold beginnings.

In this episode, we head to Rhode Island (USA), where the new Senate Bill 996 and House Bill 6207 are setting out to change how the state handles packaging waste and litter. Senator Mark McKenney, the bill’s sponsor, speaks to Jenni Hume about how two proven tools, Extended Producer Responsibility and Deposit Return Systems for beverage containers, can help protect the Ocean State’s natural beauty, boost recycling rates, and support local economies.Senator McKenney explores the environmental and economic motivations behind the legislation, highlighting its potential to create jobs while drawing on proven models from other states and countries. He emphasises the importance of holding industry accountable for the waste it generates, positioning the bill as a step towards long-term benefits for the state.

In this special episode of the Reloop Brief, we catch up, live from a paddleboard, with Merijn Tinga, also known as the Plastic Soup Surfer, during his expedition from Paris to Nice for the UN Ocean Conference. Merijn shares how his creative activism, surfing on a board made of plastic bottles, sparked a national movement that helped advance and expand a deposit return system in the Netherlands.He explains how deposit systems reduce beverage container litter by up to 80%, the role of grassroots action and AI-powered litter research and why empowering local groups is key to scaling effective waste policy across Europe. It’s a story of determination, data and the power of community.

In this episode of the Reloop Brief, we head to Toronto to sit down with Karen Wirsig, Senior Program Manager for Plastics at Environmental Defence. Karen shares insights on Canada’s current plastics policy landscape, the role of public opinion in shaping federal action and talks about why stronger enforcement and reuse infrastructure are essential for tackling single-use packaging. A recent poll shows that 86% of Canadians support federal action on plastics, across all provinces and political affiliations.From the growing problem of unnecessary and harmful plastics on grocery shelves to deposit return shortfalls in Ontario, the discussion breaks down where progress has been made and where it might still be lacking, but emphasizing foremost the importance of global cooperation and the role Canada must play in addressing the plastic crisis.

In this episode Reloop's Global Networks Director, Jenni Hume, speaks with Blair Horner from the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) about efforts to modernise New York’s deposit return system (known as the Bottle Bill), which was enacted in 1982.As the state faces mounting waste and landfill challenges, advocates are calling for a "Bigger, Better Bottle Bill" that includes expanding the scope to more types of containers and increasing the deposit value. As the momentum builds behind bottle bill reform this episode sheds light on the findings of a new Eunomia report commissioned by Reloop and NYPIRG, which outlines how a modernised bill could save New York municipalities millions of dollars, reduce litter, and divert 5.5 billion bottles and cans from landfills each year. Visit https://www.nypirg.org to learn more.

In this episode, host Barry Snedden sits down with Samantha Millette, author of Reloop’s newly updated Global Deposit Book, and Jason Wilcox, the architect behind Reloop’s upcoming Global Deposit Dashboard—set to launch in April 2025.With the Global Deposit Dashboard on the horizon, Sam and Jason offer a sneak peek into how this powerful new tool will revolutionize how we understand and compare Deposit Return Systems worldwide. Built on the extensive data compiled in the Global Deposit Book, the dashboard will allow policymakers, researchers, and industry leaders to effortlessly access critical information, visualize trends, and identify best practices in real-time.Don't miss this exclusive preview before the dashboard officially launches!