# 22 - Kate Christian from Eco-cycle LIVE The Ms. Frizzle of Recycling!

- Show: [People of Packaging](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging)
- Published: 2020-06-02
- Length: 52m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2020-06-02-22-kate-christian-from-eco-cycle-live-the-ms-frizzle-of-recycling
- Listen: https://encase.substack.com/p/22-kate-christian-from-eco-cycle-e56

## Summary

Kate Christian, Director of Business Development at Eco-cycle, explains the mechanics of modern recycling, the impact of China's National Sword policy, and the critical importance of consumer behavior. She details how contamination, particularly shrink sleeves on aluminum cans, disrupts automated sorting at Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) and reduces material value. Christian advocates for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and urges packaging designers to consider end-of-life realities, warning against misleading 'please recycle' labels on non-recyclable components.

## Chapters

- [0:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2020-06-02-22-kate-christian-from-eco-cycle-live-the-ms-frizzle-of-recycling#t=6) Introduction and Eco-cycle Background
- [27:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2020-06-02-22-kate-christian-from-eco-cycle-live-the-ms-frizzle-of-recycling#t=1658) The Impact of China's National Sword Policy
- [24:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2020-06-02-22-kate-christian-from-eco-cycle-live-the-ms-frizzle-of-recycling#t=1456) Aluminum Contamination and Shrink Sleeves
- [39:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2020-06-02-22-kate-christian-from-eco-cycle-live-the-ms-frizzle-of-recycling#t=2350) Inside the MRF: Sorting Mechanics
- [46:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2020-06-02-22-kate-christian-from-eco-cycle-live-the-ms-frizzle-of-recycling#t=2789) Extended Producer Responsibility and Future Trends

## Topics

- [Sustainability & circular products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sustainability-and-circularity)
- [Packaging design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/packaging-design)
- [Quality & yield](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/quality-and-yield)

## Most relevant to

established companies

## Mentioned

- Eco-cycle (company)
- China's National Sword policy (other)
- Momentum Glass (company)
- Rocky Mountain Bottling (company)
- Tide (product)
- Patagonia (company)
- Prana (company)
- Google (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Innovative Waste Recycling: AI and Robotics with Areeb Malik, Co-founder of Glacier](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2022-08-18-innovative-waste-recycling-ai-and-robotics-with-areeb-malik-co-founder-of-glacie) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [From Make-Use-Throw Away to Circular: Plastics Manufacturing’s Next Chapter w/ Ross Eisenberg](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2026-06-03-from-make-use-throw-away-to-circular-plastics-manufacturings-next-chapter-w-ross) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [Making garbage useful with Tom Szaky of TerraCycle](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-08-17-making-garbage-useful-with-tom-szaky-of-terracycle) (How I Built This)
- [Intelligent Dumpsters and Sustainable Waste Disposal with Ben Chehebar, VP of Hardware at RoadRunner Recycling, and Jason Gates, Senior VP of Strategy at RoadRunner Recycling](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-03-30-intelligent-dumpsters-and-sustainable-waste-disposal-with-ben-chehebar-vp-of-har) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [Educating a Modern Engineer | ’Round & ’Round: Electronics and the Circular Economy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2020-05-01-educating-a-modern-engineer-round-round-electronics-and-the-circular-economy) (EE Times Current)

## Citing this page

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