In this episode of the Sustainable Health Care podcast, Julia, an expert on packaging, discusses the challenges and opportunities of sustainable packaging with host Christopher. Julia emphasizes the need to tackle the packaging challenge head-on and highlights the limitations of recycling as an integral part of a linear economy.

The conversation focuses on the challenges of circularity, particularly in relation to packaging, and how circularity needs to be understood in a broader sense, starting from the early design stage of a product. The speakers share examples of companies and innovations that are reducing waste, such as a new system for coffee cups in Denmark and the Clean Up Cup, an aluminium cup that can be reused and picked up and delivered using an app.

The speakers also discuss the importance of convenience in encouraging people to change their habits and the success of reusable water bottles and refill stations. The use of packaging in medical and food applications is acknowledged, but the speakers criticize excessive packaging used for branding purposes and the need for regulation in reducing packaging waste. Innovations in the space, such as mono-material fibre-based packaging and reusable packaging for online shopping, are discussed.

Lastly, the speakers mention a company called "Wool-Based Products" that is looking into sustainable solutions for the medical space. The conversation concludes with suggestions for resources and organizations focused on sustainable packaging, such as The Planet and The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and the need for collaboration and innovation across industries to solve the packaging challenge.