What happens to your rubbish when you live on an island with nowhere to ship it? On Grand Cayman, the answer is a 90-foot mountain of waste the locals call "Mount Trashmore" and it is not alone. Most of the world's 57 Small Island Developing States (SIDS) face the same closed-loop reality, where every bottle, bag and broken appliance has to go somewhere, and "somewhere" is usually the ground beneath your feet.

In this episode, we are joined by Richard C. Tyson environmental consultant, entrepreneur, speaker and Founder of Eco Systems for a global conversation about circular economy, waste management and the business case for sustainability. Richard's career has taken him from the Caribbean to the UK and now Bangkok, Thailand, and his perspective carries the practical clarity of someone who has worked inside government, the private sector and international consulting.

The episode traces Richard's journey from Cayman's coral reefs to roles in environmental health, solid waste management and sustainable tourism within the Cayman Islands Government, and finally to founding his own consultancy. It digs into why SIDS are both the most vulnerable to climate change and among the most innovative incubators for circular thinking, why waste is better understood as "resources in the wrong place," how the circular economy evolved into today's corporate strategy, and what it actually takes to shift a business from linear to circular.

Richard also demystifies the world of sustainability certifications, explaining why a standardised, audited approach beats well-intentioned recycling programs every time, how certifications act as a shield against greenwashing, and why educating businesses is often more important than certifying them. How do you build an environmental consultancy from scratch and why does Richard believe that sustainability and technology are the only two real frontiers of innovation today? Tune in for a grounded, globally-minded conversation about the future of resources, small islands and sustainable business.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:59 Guest Intro & Life Across Continents
5:13 The Cayman Islands
10:05 A 101 on Small Island Developing States (SIDS)
15:59 The waste management challenge
19:39 Circular Economy
23:05 Richard's jump from Cayman to Thailand
27:41 Richard's Business Eco Systems
32:51 Environmental certifications - worth it?
41:00 Reflecting on Entrepreneurship
43:54 Overcoming the dangers of 'greenwashing’
48:47 Near-future plans for EcoSystems and Richard
50:55 Q&A Start
51:15 What does innovation mean to you?
52:08 Key Moment, Person, Event
52:54 Time Management
55:14 Favourite childhood memory
56:26 Greatest challenge to date
1:00:27 Advice for young professionals
1:02:14 What would you most like to be rememered for?
1:03:00 Where can people find you?
1:04:01 Final Message

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