Solving The Problem Of Plastic Pollution With Judith Enck

Tons of plastic continue to pile up in landfills and find their way in our oceans, and it only gets worse every single year. Judith Enck, founder and president of Beyond Plastics, is leading the charge against plastic pollution for decades. She joins Corinna Bellizzi to share what must be done to accelerate and improve efforts in reducing plastic use, particularly recycling and reusing methods. Judith also explains why most plastics continue not to get recycled, the best way to reduce unnecessary food packaging, and why corporations are the biggest culprit behind the worsening state of plastic pollution. COMPLETE BLOG & TRANSCRIPT: https://caremorebebetter.com/solving-the-problem-of-plastic-pollution-with-judith-enck/ About Guest: Judith Enck is the founder and president of Beyond Plastics, whose goal is eliminating plastic pollution everywhere. She was appointed by President Obama to serve as regional administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2009 and served as deputy secretary for the environment in the New York Governor’s Office. She is the co-author, with Adam Mahoney, of "The Problem With Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It's Too Late" (The New Press). She is currently a professor at Bennington College and lives in upstate New York. Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judith-enck-26a769200 Guest Website: https://www.beyondplastics.org/ Guest Social: https://www.instagram.com/beyondplastics https://www.facebook.com/beyondplasticsaction https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHsOC-rBE1GTpmZg4sUD96g https://www.tiktok.com/@beyondplasticsaction Additional Resources Mentioned: Book - The Problem with Plastic: https://amzn.to/4p6RcXX Show Notes:  02:40 - What Inspired Judith To Fight Plastic Pollution  06:19 - Why Most Plastics Do Not Get Recycled  14:00 - How To Boost Recycling And Get Rid Of Unnecessary Packaging  22:51 - How To Do Your Part In Reducing Plastic Pollution  28:30 - Why Chemical Recycling Is The Last Thing We Need  33:03 - How Women Are Leading The Charge Against Plastic Pollution  38:41 - There Is No Such Thing As Biodegradable Plastic   48:28 - We Need To Work To Retain Hope  51:20 - How To Work And Collaborate With Beyond Plastics Community  53:14 - What Can Replace Polyester In Our Clothes  58:10 - Get In Touch With Judith Enck And Beyond Plastics 01:00:13 - Episode Wrap-up And Closing Words BUILD A GREENER FUTURE with CARE MORE BE BETTER Together, we planted 36,044 trees in 2025 through our partnership with ForestPlanet. We screamed past our goal of planting 20,000 trees thanks to subscribers like you! NEW CAUSE PARTNER FOR 2025-2026 SELECTED! If you value open dialogue, sustainability, and social equity, I invite you to support our new cause partner — Prescott College. To learn more about this effort and to support the show, visit: https://caremorebebetter.com/support/ Follow us on social media: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/caremorebebetter TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@caremorebebetter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caremorebebetter Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CareMoreBeBetter LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/care-more-be-better Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.