CEO Evan Gwynne Davies (SCRAPP)

https://www.scrappzero.com/
Evan Gwynne Davies <evan@scrapprecycling.com> 

How are you gathering your data so you can improve? 
What is Scrapp? 
Why are companies lining up to work with Scrapp? 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cory-connors/

I'm here to help you make your packaging more sustainable! Reach out today and I'll get back to you asap.

This podcast is an independent production and the podcast production is an original work of the author. All rights of ownership and reproduction are retained—copyright 2022.

Transcript

Cory Connors: 0:00

Welcome to Sustainable Packaging with Cory Connors

Brodie Vander Dussen: 0:03

and Brodie Vander Dussen. Cory Connors: We're super friend Evan Gwyn Davies, the co founder and CEO of Scrapp. And if you haven't heard of Scrap, listen up because it's a really important and valuable Story and business that has a lot to offer so many of us in this industry. I'm amazed at what they've accomplished in a short time. and I'm excited about what they'll do in the future. And I think if you haven't heard of Scrap, I think that's, maybe you're a first time listener of Corey and I, before we started rolling, we were talking a little bit about how easy it is for us to talk about scrap, not only because they're friends of ours and that we really enjoy working with them, but what they're doing and the value that they bring to not only just the space and industry itself, but also the customers that they work with, people like us, just the statistics and the information that they alone really can have and can provide. It's easy to talk about. We bring them up a lot. So, if you haven't heard of them, I'm assuming you're a first time listener. And so I'm going to say welcome to, sustainable packaging podcast. but also welcome Evan.

Evan Gwynn Davies: 1:16

Thank you both for having me. Good to see you again. And thank you so much for the kind words. Really appreciate it.

Brodie Vander Dussen: 1:22

Evan for our first time listener, obviously, you want to share a little bit about yourself and scrap and what you guys are up to.

Evan Gwynn Davies: 1:30

Absolutely. So hi folks. My name's evan. I'm the co founder and ceo of Scrapp We're a waste data tracking platform that enables businesses, brands, retailers to help track their waste footprint over global markets so they can communicate the correct disposal of their products. We originally started off as a university dorm room project, just over, well, just over five years ago now, originally, and we had a barcode scanning app where you could scan the barcode of a product anywhere in the world and learn how to recycle it. We were frustrated. At seeing plastic bags put in the recycling bin that we knew that shouldn't be there. So we created a solution to provide at point of disposal information. And then when we started to dig further into it, we became a little bit more than just a free app for consumers. We started to learn there's a real opportunity with data and a lack of it that could really help propel our movement towards a circular economy. So that's now what we do to help businesses essentially reduce their waste footprint by optimizing for end markets.

Cory Connors: 2:25

Incredible. And, we should also mention our very good friend, Mikey Pachuto. He's been on the show before, and, you two and your team there at Scrap have accomplished so much in just a short time. it's really impressive. So you mentioned that you started out as a project, at, in university in America, right? Or, yeah, which is so cool. And you started out as an app, which is the, where the name came from scrap, which I think is so appropriate, really clever name, but you've evolved into so much more, I wanted to talk to you about and maybe focus on maybe one project, like with one of your partners that would explain to our listener what scrap does and can do for them.

Evan Gwynn Davies: 3:13

So a recent project that we've been working on, I won't name them by name, but to give you an idea, they're in the food industry. they produce millions and millions of pounds of, food for the fish markets. I don't want to say too much to give it away, but they, That huge supplier of sushi, in the U S. And so what we did is we using our data system was able to quantify the amount of material throughput that they're generating into the markets they distribute to within the United States. Really important information to get organized, especially for EPR. So just by nature of working with us, they're already. getting ahead of the EPR compliance that's going to be coming to states pretty soon, already in some, and we were also able to look at recommendations that we could give them based on the markets that they're selling into to design for this circular economy. So whether Is it the right option to use a compostable piece of packaging and wrapping it in a compostable wrap, or is it better to have a reusable HDPE container that it's getting shipped in, that we can get certain number of use cases out, and what does the impact of that look like? We're essentially giving data And organizing it and formatting it to make better decisions around the sustainability of a given product and supply chain. We really try and target as much of the value chain as we can upstream, because that's where we're finding we can have the biggest impact downstream. to contextualize it, I always bring it back to the app when we initially started, right? Why is the only onus on us to put our waste into the right bin? Why not instead we look further upstream and go, hang on, if we could design this product in a way that was optimized for where it's being distributed to, surely that makes it a much easier job for you and I to put it in the right bin, and you don't hear these horrible statistics like 8 out of 10 of us recycling correctly because we can't, or we just don't know how. so that's really what we've now molded ourselves into, if you like.

Cory Connors: 5:16

Or it's not available. 50 million households in the U. S., I think I learned that from, Recyclops, is, don't even have curbside recycling available to them. Exactly. so they have to take that extra effort, and people like us do that, but, like you said, if, what if we design the product so that it doesn't, It's easy to recycle or reuse or, or compost. these, all of these options are amazing. And like you said, data, extended producer responsibility. These are the things that people really need to be aware of today.

Brodie Vander Dussen: 5:47

not only being aware of, but also I think there is an underlying desire to do the right thing or to make packaging more sustainable, but how we do that. And what makes it something sustainable? I think are questions that all of us have, even no matter really where we are in the journey. And so having the data, I think is something that's Vital to being able to move forward. So I think it's really cool that you guys help that, is it better to be compostable? Is it better to be recyclable? Because those are not the same thing and they are completely different packaging and really depend on what the product is and the markets and a thousand factors. So the data is really important. I think to be able to make that decision or even have that conversation to figure that out. And I love the downstream to upstream. I think that's, it takes all of us to, The people who are designing the packaging, the people that you're using the packaging, the people who are disposing, collecting, to really make that circular economy. So having everyone involved sounds like you guys are have a hand in everything, every step of that process to, companies that you guys are working with. So you mentioned someone in the food industry. Do you guys work with specific industries, specific spaces, or maybe even steps in that circular economy or kind of everything?

Evan Gwynn Davies: 7:05

Yeah, so we originally when we started to understand where we were going as a business, it really opened our eyes because we figured if you produce waste, you could be a Client of ours, right? But that's a big ocean of potential clients, right? And we really need to niche down here because like you said, it's different. There's different requirements for different organizations that you might just not align with sustainability wise, or they've done everything they can. And there's nothing else that they can do. So what we're finding with the organizations we're working with. A lot of the companies that are in closed loop environments, the ones that are like stadiums, events, venues, areas where they have a good control of the inflows and outflows, or we can give them data on controlling those inflows and outflows better, is where we're getting a lot of interest because that's where we know that the use case of reuse can succeed really well. When we work with, we are working with medium sized brands and retailers at the moment, we've also worked with some of the biggest, one of the biggest beauty and cosmetics brands in the world. there's a case study coming out on it really soon that we've done with Avon. And we're finding that the difference in the appetite for sustainability is so different, even in the same industry, it's very difficult for us to create that repeatable, hey, here's your problem, this is how we can solve you. We really have to come in hands on Get under the skin of it and go. Okay. How can we work with you to get a solution that works for you? Cause the famous thing, the famous saying is sustainability, right? Is it depends. And so there's this one size fits all really becomes difficult to do. And so the breadth of customers we're working with, like I said, from stadiums all the way up to beauty cosmetics brands, if they're producing waste, there is a interest in them to track it, but we're not really seeing any consistency at the moment with the ones that are prioritizing the ones that are not.

Cory Connors: 8:58

You mentioned a report coming out. I think this is a value that a lot of people don't know that you provide is, data, analysis and reports that you make public. and this is a, an incredible service. you've recently posted your, zero waste report. Can you tell us, about that and what was involved with that?

Evan Gwynn Davies: 9:19

Absolutely. So yes, the Road to Zero Waste Report 2024, it is out now, it is live, so please do feel free to check it out on the website. The report was designed because when we started speaking with decision makers around their zero waste strategy, we started to understand that there is an education gap. It's not because they don't want to become zero waste or adopt the circular economy model. It's because it's a very new concept. When you start researching the circular economy or waste reduction strategies, you'll get hit with mostly research papers. You don't actually get hit with commercialization because we're still so early to the market. So we produce these reports using our data to help educate the people who are making these decisions going forward. A lot of the prospects that I speak with will say they have a zero waste strategy But it compromises of burning all of their rubbish for energy now I think that's a big one that I really want to just Hit on for a second the definition of zero waste is that you are not burning it And turning it into energy because that assumes a finite mindset. The idea of the circular economy is it's infinitely circular, right? It can go back into its raw materials and get Reproduced into something else and you keep going in a circle. It didn't quite sit right with us We were thinking everyone's people are saying they've got the zero waste strategy and they've got these really good recycling rates But when you get under the definitions, which again, that's another thing country by country Definitions vary on what does recycling really mean? So i'm not going to call out any countries in particular, but they might be in this cantonavian region When they have these brilliant 95 recycling rates But you actually understand that almost two thirds of that is because they're burning it You then have to start thinking hang on this isn't solving the problem So this sounds like we're kicking a can down the road So we created the report to shed a light on these New strategies that we're finding in the market that can be implemented today That could help a business actually effectively include a zero waste strategy that's built to last. As you might have noticed on our website, we are scraprecycling. com. We're actually, spoiler alert, getting rid of the recycling, because we've learned that we're a lot more than just recycling. You're probably familiar with the three R's, reduce, reuse, recycle. But we know it can be the biggest mover to go zero waste. there's no waste to handle if you don't produce it in the first place, right? So the zero waste report is really tying into that idea that how do we rethink waste more into a resource and a commodity and treat it like that at the beginning of its life rather than an afterthought once it gets put in the bin. So that's really what we're doing with the report.

Brodie Vander Dussen: 12:04

I think that's amazing. I, one, Corey and I were both really happy and honored to be a part of that report. So if you do get a chance to review it or look through it, you'll get to see, Corey and I's faces pop up throughout. But I think that piece about recycling can't be the end goal, right? I think a circular economy has to be our goal, but recycling isn't, it's not the same thing, there's a reason we're not saying recycling is the end goal, we're saying circular economy is because it has to continue, reuse is a part of that, composting is a part of that, there's so many cool things in the market that are contributing to that, including recycling. Thank you. But mostly on top of it, I think that a lot of the things that I'm personally excited about aren't really part of the recycling infrastructure because we have to find different ways to move the needle. I'm curious if you guys, if there's anything, I read the report, so I'm excited to hear what you think, but, what are some new technologies out in the market that maybe are recycling, but maybe aren't, that you and the team at Scrap are excited about?

Evan Gwynn Davies: 13:10

Great question. And also, yes, thank you for your input on the report. I really appreciate it. we, the innovations that we're seeing in the market, and I, it's going to be so cliche of me saying it, but AI. the, we, we know of the Recyclive folks who are doing fantastic work on the recycling lines with their robotic sorters using AI image detection technology. I think there's a huge opportunity for that. The other likes of wreath, they are essentially helping digitize the reuse movement There's a lot of these technologies that are making it a no brainer to become more circular because through digitization you're able to connect the dots that you wouldn't be able to before. The problem is up until now is we've never digitized it. It's always been analog and it's typically been the waste haulers that have been in control of a lot of the conversation around waste. And now we're starting to see the likes of EPR legislation and these other opportunities like DRS where we're now having a bit more of an upstream involvement with it. I think the technologies that excite me the most are the ones that are bridging that gap. And a lot of them are doing it through AI, a lot of them are doing it through data. I think recycling does, like you mentioned, Brody, recycling does have a place. We're in the digital world now and data really is the currency. So why not leverage that in sustainability as particularly more niche on the circular economy? We can, we live in a time where. We have we now have so much data on sales and marketing and you see the types of software that are out there now that can Help make better decisions in the sales department in the marketing department, etc But where's that for the circular economy? And I think that's where the excitement for me in the next 20 30 years is how that industry is going to grow Because you can connect these dots in a way that means that you're not wasting Tons and tons of resources for no reason. Landfill space is running out, and so by nature we have to become more efficient because waste is going to get exponentially more expensive as landfill fees go up, space is reduced. We're getting to a point where it's whoa, we need technology to help identify these patterns and figure it out. And AI, unfortunately to be cliche, is one of those that I'm seeing a great opportunity with.

Brodie Vander Dussen: 15:23

I don't

Cory Connors: 15:24

think that's good.

Evan Gwynn Davies: 15:25

Yeah,

Cory Connors: 15:25

I don't think that's cliche. that's, it's real. It's what's happening in the industry and to, for all of us, DRS is Deposit Return Scheme. Yeah, and I agree with you. I think that is the key to a future that is more circular. Are you, in America, we're finding numbers spike by more than double for the ten states that have a deposit return scheme for cans and bottles. Are you finding those kinds of numbers in Europe as well when the deposit return scheme is implemented?

Evan Gwynn Davies: 15:59

Yeah, so there are a few countries in Europe that already have bottle bills implemented and they already have very successful return rates. I don't know exact numbers off the top of my head but I know they're like the 90 percentile upwards, like they're very good. I know from the research we did with this, with the bottle bills in the U. S. I know they have very high, I think Massachusetts was around 95 percent. But, And in the UK, they're struggling, they are going through a little bit of an internal conflict between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on how to run the deposit return scheme. So, that's something that we're keeping an eye on, but we're starting to, we've learned that you can't rely on the legislation entirely because sometimes they can't even make up their own mind, so it's how do you find other ways. Of moving the needle but I think DRS is a really big opportunity The reason why DRS was made in the first place the deposit return schemes were to incentivize consumers to bring back their materials to the waste stream segregated clean ready to be Recycled into something new when it was first introduced in 1971. It was five cents a bottle or a can

Cory Connors: 17:06

in oregon

Evan Gwynn Davies: 17:07

where I live And In that time they have barely increased. In some areas actually not increased at all. we've recently had a 10 cents one come in the United States, but you're looking at mostly 5 cents. Now, if we go on the same logic that the idea of the bottle bill was to incentivize consumers to bring it back, if that kept up with inflation, it should be 40 cents. That's quite a big difference. And a lot of the feedback we were getting from our users, we did a lot of user research in the early days, which I think was a really good foundation for us in terms of knowledge. When we did. Over, everyone was bored in COVID, so we got to speak to a thousand users to figure out what motivates them to recycle. And we found that deposit return schemes For the majority of people there weren't enough five cents really like you're paying more in gas to go to the deposit return scheme Right, so I think for it to be effective you do have to look at how could we increase that deposit value? But again, there's lead there's other levers you've got to think about because if you increase it too much the price of goods go up and Then it prices out of the product and I think there's a lot of nuance with it and I'm interested to see how it rolls out, especially in Europe. I know they're currently looking in the UK. They're looking at 10 P a bottle, which is about 12, 13, 12, 13 cents, depending on who's in charge at the time.

Cory Connors: 18:26

Exciting. It's I agree. It's the way I think we need to do. We need to embrace the deposit return scheme for drinks Oh and as well as like germany, have a reusable bottle scheme And there should be a deposit for that as well Here's your money back. Thank you So much for bringing our packaging back and we'll refill it with, drinks again and send it back to you. it's such a simple concept. It works. We need to do that. we just had Tom Szaky on from TerraCycle. We were talking about reusable packaging. And, Kraft Heinz ketchup bottles. All they had to do to make it reusable was change the adhesive on the label. Come on, that's such a simple thing. It doesn't, it didn't take much at all. And it's a huge success. So

Brodie Vander Dussen: 19:11

I think that the, I hope to see the return bottle schemes and. return package schemes being a bigger thing in the US, I think, globally, really, but, I think it sets a really great foundation for reuse in general, like we've talked about with loop and, Tom, this isn't a new concept. It's been around for how many years and is. Was successful and then an aspect of it got away from us with inflation and the things like that, it's no longer worth it to consumers, but that feels like an easy fix to me. I think if it was caught up with inflation, 40 cents a bottle makes, makes it worth it for families or for people whose time is important to them. our culture has gotten so hot. Forward with this convenience and this everything is to you. I really think that there's an easy solution out there. Um, easy as. Objective or subjective, but, I think, I dunno, I'm hopeful. I'm hopeful that we could turn this thing around. Cause I think that there's some really good, there's some good nuggets in there. So scrap, how do we get in contact with you? how do we get projects started? How do I, if I'm a brand, how do I get some of that data that you talked about? What's next?

Evan Gwynn Davies: 20:25

Absolutely. you, so you can reach out to me, my email Evan at scrap recycling. com or through LinkedIn. Always active on linkedin putting fun little posts about bottle bills keeping up with inflation for example And yeah, we check out our website on our website. You can reach out to the team book in a call. we do we run discovery calls you jump on it's a 15 minute No commitment. No sales script thing We just come here to listen to your problems around waste and we see whether we can help you first before we then Show you what the data can do and how it can benefit because like I said before it's not for everyone Right, and we're aware of that and people are at different stages in their journey But you can bookmark this and if when the time comes you reach out to us and we can carry on the conversation

Cory Connors: 21:08

You mentioned a new website. Can you reveal the big announcement today? What's the new website?

Evan Gwynn Davies: 21:13

Yes, we can. Yeah There's been a big update on the website We now have you can look on our front page and you can see a nice little Bucket follow the buckets of where you sit in terms of your waste journey And use that as a way to navigate the website. We've streamlined it We've added in some nice video animations as well to show you how it influences your customers Because as much as we do help on the b2b side and we help with the data tracking and the Organization of formatting of data what sets us apart is we've got our consumer facing angle with the mobile app So you've you're empowering customers with a tool to know what to do with your product at the end of its life And not just the packaging right? It's everything shoes You know what to do with the box, what do you do with the shoes, where's the repair shop, etc. We wanna, we broadened the scope of recycling to go zero waste, so we can give you that kind of information for your customers, so they know, Hey, love your brand, and I see that you're actually caring for your product after it's life, not just before.

Cory Connors: 22:12

What's the new web address?

Evan Gwynn Davies: 22:15

The new web address is still scraprecycling. com right now. It's meant to be. If you, this is coming out in March, with, we'd love to get your guys thoughts on it. Scrap. We're thinking scrap zero waste. com. I like that. I know, Brady, you've got a marketing hat. Easy to remember. Yeah. Scrap zero weight. Like it's actually, sorry. I figured this probably will get cut. the, We are, Mikey and I have been going back and forth on this and also my brother's got a marketing degree So he's been involved as well to become a family affair. We don't know whether going scrapzero. com or scrapzerowaste. com Or

Cory Connors: 22:53

zero scrap. com. Maybe we'll ask the audience. Yeah, we're still on here maybe we can ask the listeners send a message to Evan and Mikey at scrap and Tell them what website you think would be the right one I

Evan Gwynn Davies: 23:08

love it. I

Cory Connors: 23:09

appreciate that. Yeah. Thanks again, Evan. Appreciate having you on.

Evan Gwynn Davies: 23:12

Thank you.

Brodie Vander Dussen: 23:12

Thanks, Evan.