Podcasts

In this episode of Sustainably Speaking, host Mia Quinn heads to Chicago and an experiential grocery store to explore how the food and packaging industries are making everyday products more recyclable. Mia sits down with John Avolio of Borouge International and Anita Budiman of Mars Snacking to unpack what really happens to the packaging in your grocery cart. They discuss increasing post-consumer recycled content in packaging, the challenge of recycling food grade plastics, and why an iconic soda brand quietly dropped its signature green bottle. John and Anita explain the science behind mono material design, share the surprising reason dogs and cats help test recycled packaging, and offer simple, practical ways anyone can recycle smarter. Plus, the fun stuff: road-trip snacks, impressive hobbies, and each guest's walkout song.

Host Mia Quinn returns to Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado — a venue she grew up visiting — to go behind the scenes of one of the most sustainable concert operations in the country. Mia sits down with Katie Zarachowicz, Sustainability Administrator for Denver Arts & Venues, to find out how Red Rocks consistently diverts 50% of its waste away from the landfill. 

Step inside the beauty industry's sustainability journey and discover how salons, brands and consumers are working together to keep more materials in use and out of landfills.

Most of us toss a plastic bottle into the recycling bin without thinking twice. But where does it actually go? Does recycling really work? And what happens after the truck drives away?

What does the future of American manufacturing look like? In Akron, Ohio, it looks like innovation rooted in legacy. In this episode of Sustainably Speaking, host Mia Quinn sits down with Akron Mayor Shammas Malik to explore how the city is transforming its historic rubber industry into a modern hub for polymers, advanced materials, and sustainable manufacturing.

In this episode of Sustainably Speaking, host Mia Quinn sits down with former Commissioner of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Vaishali Udupa and Jennifer Ronk, a plastics and sustainability expert at Dow, to explore how STEM careers are opening doors far beyond the lab. From supervising crews on job sites to leading ~10,000 people at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Jennifer and Vaishali share candid stories about leadership, resilience, and the mentors who changed their lives. They unpack why sustainability is "everybody's job," how patents fuel innovation, and why the next generation shouldn't be afraid of AI.

In this episode of Sustainably Speaking, host Mia Quinn welcomes back Ross Eisenberg, President of America’s Plastic Makers™, for a wide-ranging conversation on why recycling is no longer just an environmental issue—it’s an economic and manufacturing opportunity hiding in plain sight.

In this episode of Sustainably Speaking, host Mia Quinn sits down with Anne Kolton, Chief Sustainability Officer at SK Capital Partners, to explore how private equity is supporting the next wave of innovation in materials, plastics, and manufacturing. From dissolvable packaging to AI-powered manufacturing, Anne shares how breakthrough new technologies are unlocking a new era of sustainabilit

What it takes to build a vehicle that’s more recyclable from the start

A washed-out road. A forgotten cemetery. And a community working to preserve its history. In this episode of Sustainably Speaking, host Mia Quinn visits St. Louis to see how dedicated volunteers, thoughtful design, and recycled materials helped restore access to Greenwood Cemetery—one of the oldest African American burial grounds in the country. This episode highlights preserving history, honoring families, and building a more sustainable path forward.

What if recycling plants facilities had better brains? In this episode, recorded live at SXSW, Mia Quinn sits down with leaders from Van Dyk Recycling Solutions, Dow, and Greyparrot to unpack how artificial intelligence is transforming the recycling industry. From sorting technology that sees what we humans miss to real-time data that powers better packaging design and policy, this is a conversation about what's working, what's broken—and what's next.

Part 2 of our interview with Rey Banatao and Peter Chauvel of Google X, the Moonshot Factory explores Moonshot thinking— from circular textiles and synthetic biology to bioplastics made from old clothes. They share their wildest Moonshot Madness ideas, why failure is a critical part of the process and what the future of smarter, sustainable materials could look like.