Packaged with Care: Plastic Packaging, EPR, and the Circular Economy
Plastic packaging is everywhere—from grocery store shelves to e-commerce deliveries—and it’s one of the largest contributors to global plastic waste. In this episode of People, Places, Planet, host Dara Albrecht is joined by Caroline DeLoach (Atlantic Packaging), Daniel Zlatnik (CalRecycle), and Dacie Meng (Ellen MacArthur Foundation). Together, they unpack the complexities of the packaging market, the developments reshaping it, and the promise of a circular economy.
The conversation explores the environmental, social, and health impacts of the way packaging is produced, used, and disposed of, the role of extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws in shifting costs and incentives upstream, and innovations—from AI-powered recycling to closed-loop reuse systems. The discussion also takes a deep dive into California's landmark SB 54, examining how its ambitious goals could influence policy nationwide. With perspectives spanning policy, law, and industry, the episode offers an in-depth look at how international treaties, state-level regulations, and private-sector action are converging to address the plastic waste crisis and make packaging more sustainable.
- Current State of Plastic Production and Waste (01:32)
- Towards a Circular Economy (13:07)
- International Efforts to Address Plastic Waste (17:14)
- Innovations and the Role of the Private Sector (21:17)
- Consumer Choices and Sustainable Packaging (35:19)
- Introduction to EPR (37:36)
- California's EPR Law and Its Features (48:04)
- Closing Thoughts (01:01:47)
This episode was recorded on June 20, 2025, prior to the start of INC-5.2, which is currently underway. The discussion may not reflect the most recent developments. For up-to-date information, please visit UNEP's website.
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Creators and Guests
Host
Dara Albrecht
Dara Albrecht joined the Environmental Law Institute as a Research Associate in August 2023. She is currently working on the Climate Judiciary Project and the Global Marine Protected Areas project. Dara is also the host of People Places Planet Podcast. She has previously contributed to the Environmental Law Reporter, the Belize Fisheries Project, and ELI’s Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Evaluation. Prior to joining ELI, Dara pursued desert ecology research at the University of Sydney in Australia and served as a reviewer and writer for articles published in “Biodiversity Islands: Strategies for Conservation in Human-Dominated Environments (2022).” She co-authored “The biogeochemical boomerang: Site fidelity creates nutritional hotspots that may promote recurrent calving site reuse,” published in August 2024. Other work includes translating the Reef Environmental Education Foundation’s citizen science material to Spanish to increase accessibility for Latinx communities and leading conservation planning projects with the US Forest Service and California Bureau of Land Management. Dara is a two-time awardee of the Richter Fellowship, and is also a Curtis Travelling Fellow, Bruce M. Babcock Travel Research Fellow, and Tetelman Fellow for International Research in Sciences. Dara is passionate about using science to develop successful conservation planning and shape policy. As a Peruvian citizen with roots in the Amazon, she is an advocate for cross-cultural environmental collaboration and developing just solutions for vulnerable communities who are impacted by climate change. Dara is a 2023 graduate from Yale University with a B.S. in Environmental Science with a concentration in Biodiversity and Conservation. Her senior thesis was an independent research project focused on the stoichiometry of caribou diet across Newfoundland and its conservation implications. Dara would like to honor with gratitude all the ancestral stewards of this land, past and present, and acknowledge the ancestral and unceded native territory on which ELI sits today.
Editor
Sebastian Duque Rios
Sebastian Duque Rios joined the Environmental Law Institute as a Research Associate in August 2024. He provides editorial support for the People Places Planet Podcast.
