Episode 3: Environmental Change in Canada -  Plastics Case Study


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Plastics are everywhere - in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and even the food we eat. As products that essentially never disappear, plastics have a huge impact on both our environment and our health. In this episode, we talk plastic pollution, regulating waste, and green entrepreneurship with Jay Sinha, Author and Co-founder of Life Without Plastic. He shares with us the ways businesses, government, and even individuals can impact our plastic use, in Canada and abroad.



Guest

Jay Sinha
Author & Co-founder, Life Without Plastic

Guest Bio

Host

Peter Andrée
Professor, Department of Political Science, Carleton University

Host

Ryan M. Katz-Rosene
Assistant Professor, School of Political Studies, University of Ottawa

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Guest Bio

Jay Sinha
Co-Founder & Co-Owner
Life Without Plastic
(a division of Mama Mundo Inc.) 

Jay is an ecopreneur, scientist, lawyer, policy advisor, writer and speaker who hails proudly from the sunny, windy prairies of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He is the co-founder and co-owner (with business partner Chantal Plamondon) of Life Without Plastic, a globally established online shop and information resource for safe, high quality, ethically-sourced, Earth-friendly alternatives to plastic products for everyday life, including zero waste essentials. 

Jay has always been captivated by nature, and his environmental protection instincts really took hold when doing a grade six project on acid rain. Now he sees chilling parallels between yesterday’s acid rain and today’s borderless toxic microplastics. An honors degree in biochemistry from Western University taught him about the microscopic world. He completed civil and common law degrees at McGill University, followed by a dip back into science with a graduate diploma in ecotoxicology from Concordia University—all the better to understand the toxic effects of plastics. He has held various positions in the public, private and civil society sectors. 

Jay is a co-author (with Chantal) of the timely bestselling book, LIFE WITHOUT PLASTIC: The Practical Step-by-Step Guide to Avoiding Plastic to Keep Your Family and the Planet Healthy (Page Street Publications, 2017), which distils their years of experience seeking out plastic alternatives into an easily understandable deep dive into the plastic pollution issue and practical how-to guide for living with less plastic. So far, the book has been translated into Italian, Japanese, Czech, Slovak, and an updated French version. Korean and Mandarin are on the way. 

Jay lives in Wakefield, Quebec, Canada.

E-mail: jay@lifewithoutplastic.com
Website: lifewithoutplastic.com
Blog: LifeWithoutPlasticBlog.com
Twitter: twitter.com/LifeWoutPlastic
Facebook: facebook.com/LifeWithoutPlastic
Instagram: instagram.com/LifeWithoutPlastic
Pinterest: pinterest.com/LifeWoutPlastic