2025 was a year of big promises, policy pivots, and growing pressure across waste, resources, and the circular economy. In this special year-in-review episode of Beyond Waste, guest host David Greenfield (President, CIWM & Vice President, CEI) is joined by Charlotte Davies (CIWM Early Careers Team President) to unpack what really mattered.

From simpler recycling reforms and waste crime hitting the headlines, to AI, tracking tech, and the struggle to make circular economy language land with people, they explore the wins, the setbacks, and the lessons of the year. The conversation also looks ahead to 2026—new regulations, digital waste tracking, major events like ISWA in London, and how the sector can become more attractive, accessible, and impactful.

If you want a clear-eyed view of where the sector’s been—and where it’s heading—this is the episode to catch up.

What does circular economy progress look like when it starts at community level?

In this episode of Beyond Waste, host Richard Hudson (CIWM) is joined by voices from across the Dennakuwo partnership to reflect on three years of collaboration in The Gambia.

Drawing on the newly released WasteAid–CIWM impact report, the conversation explores how skills, confidence, and local leadership can transform resource and waste management from the ground up.

From setting the wider context of waste, sanitation and circularity in The Gambia, to supporting green enterprises, behaviour change and local authority engagement, this episode offers a grounded look at how sustainable change happens when communities are empowered to lead it themselves.

Richard Hudson, CIWM (host)

Ceris Turner-Bailes, WasteAid

Lamin Sanyang, WasteAid

Ndey Awa Ceesay, Dennakuwo Secretary General

Alfusainey Sey, NAACO Enterprise

As global divisions intensify and international agreements falter, the path to sustainable consumption has never felt more uncertain. Yet the need for resource recovery, resilient systems, and fair global supply chains is only growing.

In this episode of The Beyond Waste Podcast, guest host Tim Walker (arc21) is joined by Maya de Souza (Materia Verde) and Beth Barker (Aldersgate Group) to tackle one of the most contentious questions of our time: Is a world built on sustainable consumption truly possible—or just a well-meaning illusion?

Together, they unpack the realities of SDG 12 in 2025, the stubborn chokehold of the linear economy, and what happens when global treaties stall or collapse. The conversation takes us from the shifting economic power of the Global South to the geopolitical risks of restricting consumption in nations whose economies rely on it.

Expect a candid exploration of:

• Whether resource efficiency, waste reduction, policy action or lifestyle change is the real key to rapid impact

• How to break free from the linear model dominating global economies

• The fallout from failed international agreements—like the stalled UN Global Plastics Treaty

• Building credible, just, and sustainable global supply chains

• Why “sustainable consumption” sounds simple but is maddeningly complex in practice

• Growing consumption in the Global South—and how to avoid replicating Western overconsumption

• Why some nations view consumption restrictions as existential threats

Join us for a thought-provoking, solutions-focused conversation on what it really takes to build resilient systems—and whether sustainable consumption can ever move from ambition to reality.