# 52 - MARCH MADNESS WEEK! Dekshitha Sridhar - Sustainability Chairwomen at RIT

- Show: [People of Packaging](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging)
- Published: 2021-03-16
- Length: 36m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2021-03-16-52-march-madness-week-dekshitha-sridhar-sustainability-chairwomen-at-rit
- Listen: https://encase.substack.com/p/52-march-madness-week-dekshitha-sridhar-6e6

## Summary

Dekshitha 'Dee' Sridhar, a master's student in packaging science at RIT and sustainability chairwoman, discusses the critical role of education in recycling, noting that misconceptions about contamination (like orange juice in PET bottles) lead to landfill waste. She highlights the importance of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) software like Sphera and GaBi in evaluating the true environmental impact of reusable versus single-use items, emphasizing the 'functional unit' of use. Sridhar also reflects on the significant drawbacks of the pandemic for packaging students, specifically the loss of hands-on lab access, co-op experiences, and in-person industry interactions.

## Chapters

- [0:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2021-03-16-52-march-madness-week-dekshitha-sridhar-sustainability-chairwomen-at-rit#t=10) Introduction: Dekshitha Sridhar and RIT
- [3:30](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2021-03-16-52-march-madness-week-dekshitha-sridhar-sustainability-chairwomen-at-rit#t=210) Background: Mumbai, India, and Education
- [10:58](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2021-03-16-52-march-madness-week-dekshitha-sridhar-sustainability-chairwomen-at-rit#t=658) Sustainability Chairwoman Role and Recycling Education
- [13:53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2021-03-16-52-march-madness-week-dekshitha-sridhar-sustainability-chairwomen-at-rit#t=833) Policy Reform and Incentives for Recycling
- [18:56](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2021-03-16-52-march-madness-week-dekshitha-sridhar-sustainability-chairwomen-at-rit#t=1136) Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Software Tools
- [21:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2021-03-16-52-march-madness-week-dekshitha-sridhar-sustainability-chairwomen-at-rit#t=1282) Future Materials and Self-Degradable Packaging
- [25:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2021-03-16-52-march-madness-week-dekshitha-sridhar-sustainability-chairwomen-at-rit#t=1504) Pandemic Impact on Packaging Education and Labs
- [31:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2021-03-16-52-march-madness-week-dekshitha-sridhar-sustainability-chairwomen-at-rit#t=1896) Magic Wand: Universal Recycling and Time Travel

## Topics

- [Sustainability & circular products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sustainability-and-circularity)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- RIT (company)
- Unilever (company)
- Cummins (company)
- Sphera (tool)
- GaBi (tool)
- Package LCA (tool)
- Matima Pro (tool)
- Loon Shots (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [#012 Season 2: Robert Irwin - Senior Industrial Designer, Founder of LearnIndustrialDesign.com, Principal Sustainability Consultant at irwindesigned](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/designing-in-the-wild/2024-05-01-012-season-2-robert-irwin-senior-industrial-designer-founder-of-learnindustriald) (Designing in the Wild)
- [BONUS - iNEMI VP of Technical & Project Operations Grace O'Malley at APEX 2023 - EMSNOW & SCOOP On Location](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ems-c-level/2023-02-09-bonus-inemi-vp-of-technical-project-operations-grace-omalley-at-apex-2023-emsnow) (EMS@C-LEVEL)
- [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)
- [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)
- [158: Thinking Sustainability in Hardware Product Design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-01-13-158-thinking-sustainability-in-hardware-product-design) (Product Startup)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2021-03-16-52-march-madness-week-dekshitha-sridhar-sustainability-chairwomen-at-rit. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to People of Packaging.