Solving the Plastic-Waste Crisis: Reframing our Relationship with Trash

From soil and water contamination to the deadly effects on wildlife, there are many impacts that stem from our trash. But when Lillygol Sedaghat set off on a 9,000-mile journey to better understand the plastic supply chain, she discovered many of those impacts can be positive — especially when communities recognize the untapped value of their trash.

Sedaghat’s journey began by questioning the fate of the plastic containers of her favorite drink, bubble-milk tea, and it led her to the ingenious waste management enterprises of Taiwan, the women-led expeditioners following plastics along the iconic Ganges River in Bangladesh and India, and initiatives — both global and local — that embody a more sustainable future. After a multimedia presentation, Sedaghat will be joined by Hidden Compass co-founders Sabine K. Bergmann and Sivani Babu for a discussion on the role our waste plays in connecting us, and the promise and hope of circular economies.

Bio
Lillygol Sedaghat is a National Geographic Explorer and Multimedia Storyteller who believes in the power of stories to change the world. Her work has included documenting the women-led Sea to Source Ganges River Plastics Expedition, the effects of climate change and coronavirus on coastal communities on an 800-mile bike journey, and Taiwan’s waste management system and plastic recycling initiatives.

In 2020, Sedaghat co-founded Suan Tian Stories, a multimedia storytelling platform exploring ideas about people, place, and change. With her stories, Sedaghat aims to make science accessible to the greater public and spark the realization that every choice we make affects someone, somewhere, hoping to promote our connectivity to each other and the world, and to transform people’s perceptions of trash from something disposable to something valuable.

Sedaghat is currently building one of the first human-story focused databases of circular economy initiatives in Taiwan, working with government and industry representatives to help build a blueprint for a circular economy of plastics in the United States, and convening international conversations with global experts and stakeholders to prepare a slate of solutions focused on solving the crisis around end-of-life plastics.