The Environmental Transformation Podcast with Sean Grady

Automotive plastic recycling is moving outside the curbside bin as EPR laws push petroleum brands to fund collection systems for used oil and antifreeze containers.
David Lawes, CEO of Interchange 360, explains why petroleum packaging needs a separate recovery system and how the organization is building one across the United States. The effort grew from a Canadian model and brings major petroleum producers under a shared compliance structure for petroleum and automotive packaging.
Lawes describes a funding model based largely on product volume, with fees collected upstream and incentives paid to existing trucking, collection and recycling businesses rather than a network of Interchange-owned trucks or facilities. He also explains how auto retailers, household hazardous waste sites and other return locations can serve as convenient alternatives to curbside recycling, where residual oil can contaminate broader material streams.
The conversation follows the material after collection. Motor oil containers can be shredded, warmed and processed through a centrifuge to remove residual oil, which can be recycled, while the plastic can move into post-consumer markets and potentially back into new motor oil packaging. Lawes says the long-term goal is a tighter circular system, but processing capacity remains a major constraint, especially in states such as Colorado where the program is building infrastructure from a near-zero starting point.
Lawes also discusses why consumer behavior often comes down to two factors: clear communication and convenient drop-off options. He points to British Columbia, where the Canadian program has achieved collection and recycling rates above 90%, as evidence that specialized systems can scale when the network is easy to use.
Learn more about the Environmental Transformation Podcast at www.seankgrady.com.

#PlasticRecycling #ExtendedProducerResponsibility #CircularEconomy
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Recycling Challenge and Introduction
2:00 Five Oil Brands Build a Shared EPR Model
4:00 Why the Canadian Model Was Chosen
6:00 Canada and U.S. Program Differences
9:00 How Volume Based EPR Funding Works
12:00 Incentivizing Existing Recycling Companies
15:00 Alternatives to Curbside Collection
18:00 Sponsor Break
20:00 State by State EPR Compliance
24:00 Circularity and Post Consumer Content
27:00 Building Processing Capacity From Zero
30:00 Cleaning Oil Contaminated HDPE
33:00 Other Materials That Need Separate Systems
36:00 Convenience Drives Recycling Behavior
40:00 Collection Equipment and Retail Incentives
42:00 Colorado Targets and Producer Compliance
45:00 Developing Colorado Processing Capacity
49:00 Building the System for the Long Term
TAGS:
David Laws recycling, Lawes lubricant recycling, Interchange360 recycling, lubricant container recovery, used oil bottle recycling, petroleum packaging stewardship, alternative collection program, motor oil jug recovery, antifreeze jug disposal, producer responsibility group, Colorado packaging compliance, Washington EPR policy, post consumer resin, HDPE oil bottle processing, circular packaging systems, automotive waste diversion, hazardous waste drop off, recycling incentive model

AI risk intelligence can turn public corporate disclosures into a living view of threats before leaders see them internally. Jim Massey, founder and CEO of Eastward AI, explains how his platform reframes risk as the gap between where an organization stands and where it needs to go. Rather than relying on static spreadsheets and siloed annual reviews, Eastward builds a corporate persona from filings, reports, press releases, industry standards and competitive data, then uses curated agents to identify relevant changes.
Massey describes a private-company example in which the system connected a supplier announcement with a manufacturing fire and flagged exposure affecting roughly 15% of a client's business. He also walks through a beverage-company review that surfaced potential pressure from European drought conditions, tariffs and shipping disruption through the Strait of Hormuz.
The conversation covers Eastward's Reality Check feature, risk cards, citations for generated statements, audit trails, supplier scorecards and visual maps showing how multiple threats connect. Massey explains why people remain responsible for validating context, controls and reports, even when artificial intelligence handles much of the research and document production.
Host Sean Grady also asks how the platform supports sustainability teams, Scope 3 supply-chain reviews, executive decision-making and board reporting. Massey argues that faster, lower-cost assessments can move risk management beyond compliance and toward strategy, while keeping humans accountable for the final call.
Thanks to our Sponsors: WASTELINQ, E-Tank, and Cascade Environmental.
#ArtificialIntelligence #CorporateStrategy #RiskManagement
TAGS:Jim Massy, EastwardAI, Eastward artificial intelligence, risk management technology, corporate risk analytics, executive decision support, continuous risk monitoring, ERM modernization, third party due diligence, supplier risk scoring, materiality assessment automation, ESG risk systems, C suite risk strategy, board risk reporting, human in the loop AI, AI governance for business, regulatory risk alerts, risk taxonomy software, corporate persona modeling, active intelligence platform

Career ownership is not optional. Paul Goudreault spent more than 40 years in environmental consulting and engineering, serving as CEO of two multinational firms, before distilling those lessons into a practical book for professionals at every stage.
Goudreault, founder of Enorine Partners and author of "Own Your Career: No One Else Will", walks through his ADAPT Career Lifecycle model, a five-stage framework covering the full arc from acquiring foundational skills to transitioning into retirement or reinvention. He and host Sean Grady discuss why most professionals never truly take ownership of their careers, how to identify the right mentor inside and outside your organization, and why your professional brand determines how much freedom you earn at work.

The conversation covers the difference between a coach and a mentor, how AI is reshaping entry-level roles in environmental consulting, the transferability of project management skills across industries, and why relationship-building remains the one thing technology cannot automate. Goudreault also shares career personality types, from the traditionalist to the entrepreneur, and explains how understanding your type helps you choose the right roles and organizations.
His second book, "Own the Life You Deserve", is now available in audiobook format. Both titles are available on Amazon by searching Paul Goudreault. Visit SeanKGrady.com to see the entire catalog of episodes to listen to or watch.
#EnvironmentalPodcast #CareerDevelopment #EnvironmentalConsulting

TAGS:
career lifecycle model, ADAPT model, career ownership, environmental consulting careers, EHS career advice, career mentorship, professional branding, career development podcast, environmental engineering podcast, project manager career growth, how to find a mentor, career personality types, AI in environmental consulting, career reinvention, work life balance consulting

CHAPTERS:
0:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome
2:02 Why Paul Goudreault Wrote the Book
4:00 The ADAPT Career Lifecycle Model Explained
11:20 How to Level Up at Any Career Stage
15:40 The Importance of Being Coachable
18:45 Building Your Advisory Team
25:00 Career Personality Types
29:30 Investing in Yourself Throughout Your Career
36:30 Staying Current with Technology and AI
41:30 Networking as a Long-Term Career Investment
44:20 How to Find the Right Mentor
48:30 Personal Brand vs. Professional Brand
51:30 Dress for Success and First Impressions
54:30 Understanding Your Organization's Strategy
56:30 Making Your Mark and Leaving a Legacy
58:30 Goudreault's Training Program and Book Links

The U.S. drinking water MCLs for PFAS remain in effect, but court challenges, proposed deadline extensions, and regulatory uncertainty have left public water systems in a difficult position. Taryn McKnight, VP and PFAS Practice Leader for Eurofins Environment Testing, breaks down the current state of PFAS regulation in the United States, including the legal battles over EPA's drinking water standards, the CERCLA hazardous substance designation, and why the proposed rollback of certain PFAS compounds may be less consequential than headlines suggest.
Recorded at the Battelle Chlorinated Conference in Dallas-Fort Worth, McKnight and host Sean Grady examine why utilities are caught between monitoring requirements and investment decisions, how biosolids have emerged as a primary concern for state agencies, and what the UCMR5 occurrence data actually shows about which compounds warranted a national primary drinking water regulation. They also discuss the passive receiver problem under CERCLA, congressional efforts to address it, and why legislation has stalled year after year.
The conversation also covers the growing public interest in biomonitoring, Eurofins' direct-to-consumer blood testing kits for PFAS exposure, the role of citizen science in building population-level data, and what it would take for microplastics to move from EPA's Contaminant Candidate List to a monitored contaminant under UCMR6.
Learn more about Eurofins Environment Testing's PFAS services at eurofinsus.com/pfas.
Visit Sean Grady at seankgrady.com to subscribe to the newsletter and support the show.
#PFAS #DrinkingWaterRegulation #EnvironmentalPodcast
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Introduction and Conference Setting
2:02 Status of PFAS Drinking Water Regulations
4:10 EPA's Proposal to Extend the 2029 Compliance Deadline
5:45 Safe Drinking Water Act No-Backsliding Provision
7:10 UCMR5 Data and the Case for Rescinding Four Compounds
9:20 Biosolids and Wastewater as State-Level Priorities
11:05 State Responses to PFAS Regulation
12:15 CERCLA Hazardous Substance Designation Challenges
13:45 Passive Receivers and Congressional Action
17:30 Sponsor Messages
20:05 Biomonitoring and Public Awareness of PFAS
21:40 Eurofins Blood Testing Kits and Citizen Science
22:50 PFAS and the Evolution of Laboratory Testing
26:10 Robert Bilott, Dark Waters, and Advocacy Impact
30:45 Battelle Conference and What Comes Next
31:20 Microplastics, CCL6, and the Path to UCMR6
34:20 Closing Thoughts and How to Reach Eurofins
Thanks to our Sponsors: Cascade Environmental, E-Tank, and WASTELINQ

Battelle's Chlorinated Conference draws 1,500 environmental professionals from 23 countries, and its division manager explains why PFAS treatment is pushing the industry to its limits.
Joe Tarsavage, Division Manager of Environmental Solutions at Battelle, discusses the 30-year history of the Chlorinated Conference, how PFAS contamination has reset treatment standards from two nines to five or six nines of removal, and why that gap is driving rapid innovation across the remediation sector. He also addresses how artificial intelligence is beginning to reshape site investigation, data analysis, and client reporting, and why the industry is only scratching the surface of what that technology can do.
Tarsavage details Battelle's expanding conference portfolio, including the upcoming Sediments Conference in Austin in January 2027 and the newly rebranded Battelle Bloom Conference in June 2027, which will broaden the traditional bioremediation platform to include critical minerals and land optimization. He also touches on emerging contaminants now appearing on EPA's CCL 6 list, including microplastics and 6PPD-quinone, and what it will take for laboratories and researchers to develop reliable analytical methods for those compounds.
The conversation also covers Battelle's student mentoring program, the value of deliberate mentorship in a field where it no longer happens organically, and what Tarsavage is asking conference participants to help shape for future events.
#Battelle #PFAS #EnvironmentalConsulting #remediation #technology

CHAPTERS:
0:00 Introduction and Joe Tarsavage's Role at Battelle
0:58 History and Growth of the Chlorinated Conference
2:55 PFAS as the Dominant Industry Topic
5:00 Building the Conference Platform and Steering Committee
6:05 AI and Digital Technology in Environmental Work
8:50 How Reporting Timelines Have Changed Over 30 Years
9:45 Poster Sessions, Student Competition, and Mentoring
12:45 What Has Changed Most Over the Conference's 30 Years
14:45 Vapor Intrusion, PFAS, and Evolving Regulations
16:30 PFAS Treatment Challenges and Innovation
17:50 Where Battelle and the Conference Are Headed Next
19:35 Emerging Contaminants: Microplastics and 6PPD-Quinone
21:15 Battelle's Role in Methods Development
22:00 Conference Venue Plans and Future Locations
23:45 The Value of Networking at Industry Conferences
25:30 Closing RemarksReply