The Plastic Shift

Twelve Pioneers Answering Circularity's Hardest Questions

Over a year I sat down with twelve people building circular materials businesses — at Wild Plastic, Lignin Industries, Human Material Loop, On, BASF, PAKKA, Ocean Conservancy, MAGNO, Chemical Recycling Europe and Plastics Europe Deutschland.

I asked all of them the seven questions the industry keeps stepping around. What does circularity actually cost? Who pays for collection? Does mass balance — the accounting method that lets recycled input be attributed to specific output — mean anything in practice? And why do good materials die between the pilot plant and the production line?

Almost none of them answered the way I expected.

A pattern emerged instead. Circular materials scale when they are drop-in compatible, priced at parity and unglamorous. Not when they are revolutionary. Integration beats disruption. Economics beats virtue. Pull beats push.

Published June 2026.

If you would rather listen first — the book came out of Plastic. Climate. Future., the podcast John Sewell and I host. Start there: www.plasticclimatefuture.com