Why “dirt-to-dirt” is the real circular economy

In this episode of Decoding Innovation podcast, Douglas Horne, CEO and founder of Evanesce, talks about compostable packaging and explains why “dirt-to-dirt” is the real circular economy.

Listen now on Apple PodcastsSpotify and Google Podcasts, and watch on YouTube.

We have been talking about recycling for a long time, but there have been very low numbers of recycling happening and very few recyclables being recycled — especially food waste.

Food waste going into landfills poses a major problem for recyclers as it doesn’t mix up with things that aren’t compostable. So how can we change consumer behavior in the recycling process?

In this episode of the Decoding Innovation podcast series, Douglas Horne, CEO and founder of Evanesce, talks to our host Mitali Sharma about compostable packaging as a solution to recycle waste, the outlook of brands toward sustainability, how different industries are pivoting to compostable solutions and why he deems “dirt-to-dirt” as the true circular economy.

Key takeaways:

  • On the recycling side, dirt-to-dirt approaches are more sustainable and circular. They begin and end with dirt which is the natural and organic product that we start and end with — in most circular projects.
  • A major problem with recycling food waste is the usage of multiple bins. Compostable packaging allows people to put things in a single bin and dispose food waste for composting, which otherwise ends up in landfills.
  • There’s a lot of internal packaging for different medical products. Thus, to meet sterilization requirements for packaging materials, the medical industry is also looking for compostable solutions. 

For your convenience, full text transcript of this podcast is also available. Read the transcript.

Presenters

Mitali Sharma
Principal, Strategy, EY-Parthenon, Ernst & Young LLP

Podcast

Episode 5

Duration 36m 39s

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In this series

Series overview
(Event List - Manual)

Why “dirt-to-dirt” is the real circular economy

In this episode of Decoding Innovation podcast, Douglas Horne, CEO and founder of Evanesce, talks about compostable packaging and explains why “dirt-to-dirt” is the real circular economy.
Podcast

Episode 5

Duration
36m 39s

How technology is redefining access to care

In this episode of the Decoding Innovation podcast series, Oliver Kharraz, CEO and Founder of Zocdoc, talks to Mitali Sharma about telehealth and how technology is positively impacting health care.
Podcast

Episode 4

Duration
39m 37s

What a hydrogen-powered future can look like

In this episode of Decoding Innovation podcast, Andrew Horvath, Global Group Chairman, Star Scientific Limited, and host Mitali Sharma discuss the role of hydrogen in the new energy economy.
Podcast

Episode 3

Duration
29m 27s

Why fusion is the holy grail for clean energy generation

In the second episode of the Decoding Innovation podcast series, General Fusion CEO Greg Twinney talks about why fusion is the most sustainable approach to clean energy production.
Podcast

Episode 2

Duration
15m 21s

How a career path in disruptive innovation impacts global industries

In the first episode of the Decoding Innovation podcast series, General Fusion CEO Greg Twinney talks about his approach to bring disruptive innovation into reality through strategic partnerships and execution.
Podcast

Episode 1

Duration
27m 11s