Brian Lodge, BPF 

In this session Brian Lodge will deliver a BPF report exploring the role of reusable plastics packaging in driving the circular economy. 

Biography

Brian is the Director of Flexible and Plastic Packaging at the BPF. He has worked in design and development of plastic packaging for over 40 years in the UK, mainland Europe and Africa, joining the BPF in November 2022. Brian also sits on many industry bodies including chairmanships of the Recoup Recyclability by Design committee and the WRAP Jazz Polyolefins committee. He has a lot of experience in design for recycling and creating more sustainable plastic packaging.

Margaret Bates, Circular Economy and Resource Management Consultant

In this session our speaker will examine the latest developments in reuse legislation across the UK and globally. 

Biography

Dr Margaret Bates has nearly 40 years experience in waste management and the circular economy, across academia, government, and industry. She led the establishment of the UK’s Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Scheme Administrator working across governments and the packaging value chain.  Previously she has held roles as  Managing Director of OPRL, Professor of Sustainable Wastes Management and President of the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management.  Margaret is a Chartered Environmentalist, Chartered Wastes Manager, International Wastes Manager, and a Fellow of both CIWM and IOM3 as well as a Founding Fellow of the Circular Economy Institute. 

Lowelle Bryan, Senior Specialist, Reus and Refill, WRAP

In this session, our speaker will examine the role of reusable packaging in the new Reusable Pact and what it means for the industry.

Biography  

Lowelle Bryan’s career has involved working for various organisations, focusing on resource management. Currently, she has over 16 years’ experience developing and delivering programmes in these areas. She is mission driven, and excels in collaborating to increase impact. She has proven capability in delivering technical solutions to major retailers and global brands. In her current role of Senior Reuse Specialist, she is providing direction and leadership on reuse in The Packaging Pact, working towards ambitious targets. The UK Packaging Launch is part of a global network of Pacts and, Lowelle works in the UK but also gets involved in Pacts globally. Lowelle works specifically on reducing the reliance on single use plastics, with the ultimate ambition of making reuse mainstream in the UK. Lowelle is a skilled communicator, negotiator and relationship builder.

Gavin Ellis, Director and Co-Founder, Hubbub

In this session Gavin Ellis from Hubbub will present on their current projects, showing their conclusions as well as the progress on their new project in Glasgow.

Biography

Gavin is Director of award-winning environmental charity Hubbub where he leads high profile environmental behaviour change campaigns such as Neat Streets, Leeds By Example and In The Loop. Gavin was one of the three co-founders of Hubbub in 2014 and has been a key part of the team that has established it as one of the UK’s foremost environmental organisations. He has more than 20 years of experience in communicating environmental issues, having previously worked as Senior Client Manager and Marketing Manager at environmental charity Global Action Plan.   

Irina Ankudinova, Sustainability and Circularity Manager, Recoup

This session our speaker will focus on the RECOUP work on the reusable packaging.

Biography

Irina's work focuses on reusable systems for plastic products, from understanding the design and behavioural drivers behind such systems to evaluating their sustainability using LCA and exploring how materials can enable a circular economy through a combination of reuse and recycling.

James Bull, Tesco

In this session James Bull will provide the audience with an overview of the reuse projects currently being undertaken by Tesco. He will explore what the projects are, why Tesco are undertaking them and new initiatives.

Biography

James has worked for the last 25 years in delivering transformation initiatives across the Tesco business, currently leading the Packaging team; Committed to removal, reduction, reuse and recycling of packaging used across the Tesco global supply chain, ensuring we only use packaging with a purpose and everything we use can be reused or recycled.

Focused on accelerating the exit of hard to recycle materials, increasing the use of recycled materials and helping customers make environmentally responsible decisions.

He has worked with industry to influence the improvement of retrieval and recycling in the UK moving towards progressively closed loop systems for packaging

Cressida Bowyer, Professor of Arts and Science for Sustainability and Co-Director, Revolution Plastics Institute, University of Portsmouth

In this session, our speaker will explore the key principles of effective reuse policy and how regulation can support the transition to reusable packaging systems.

Biography

Cressida Bowyer is a British academic and transdisciplinary researcher focused on sustainability, global health and environmental challenges. She is Professor of Arts and Science for Sustainability and Co-Director of the Revolution Plastics Institute at the University of Portsmouth, where her work brings together creative arts, science and community-engaged methods to address issues like plastic pollution, air quality and lung health in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Before academia Cressida worked in the music industry and was a founder member of KLF Communications. After raising a family, she retrained in biological sciences and gained a PhD studying cancer-related molecular pathways before expanding her career into interdisciplinary research. She uses participatory and arts-based research methods such as theatre, film, music and community storytelling to involve diverse stakeholders in scientific and policy work. Cressida works internationally with partners across government, NGOs and industry to drive practical action on environmental and health challenges.