The Grand Challengers Podcast Episode #61
Waste is “resources in the wrong place” – from small islands to circular economy and certifications
Guest: Richard C. Tyson
April 21st, 2026
Overview
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 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. Small islands, it turns out, are a stress test for the global sustainability challenge.
In Episode 61, Peter is joined by Richard C. Tyson, environmental consultant, entrepreneur, speaker and Founder of Eco Systems, based in Bangkok, for a globally-minded conversation about circular economy, waste management and the business case for sustainability. Richard’s career has spanned three continents: the Caribbean, the UK and Southeast Asia. His perspective blends the hard-won realism of someone who has worked inside government and the strategic clarity of someone who now advises industrial businesses on how to implement ISO-standard environmental management systems.
The episode traces Richard’s path from snorkelling Cayman’s coral reefs as a child, to training at Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ambassadors of the Environment at The Ritz-Carlton, to Earth sciences, environmental health and solid waste management inside the Cayman Islands Government, to founding his own consultancy after a Chevening-funded MSc in Environmental Engineering at Leeds. Peter and Richard dig into why small island nations are both the most vulnerable to climate change and some of the most inventive incubators for circular thinking and how lessons from the Caribbean translate to Southeast Asia and beyond.
The conversation moves naturally from the history of circular economy tracing its roots back to Kenneth Boulding’s 1966 “Spaceship Earth” essay and Pearce & Turner’s 1990 book that formally coined the term, to a clear-eyed look at where the movement is today. Richard explains why “waste is just resources in the wrong place,” how circular thinking is already reshaping cement, manufacturing and tourism, and how his own take mirrors our earlier discussion with Wei-Shan Chen on food waste valorization in Episode 47.
Richard also demystifies the world of sustainability certifications, particularly ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems and ISO 45001 Occupational Health & Safety, explaining why a standardised, audited approach is often more powerful than well-intentioned ad-hoc programmes, how certifications shield businesses against greenwashing, and why education, data and transparency are fast becoming a competitive advantage. These themes echo our conversation with Jarrod Luxton on best-practice sustainability strategies in Episode 44 and Don Weatherbee’s vision of a circular minerals economy in Episode 41. Tune in for a grounded, globally-minded conversation about the future of resources and what it means to build a business that does good and does well.
Episode Teaser
Biography
“…Waste is just resources in the wrong place…”
Richard C. Tyson is an entrepreneur, speaker and seasoned environmental professional with over a decade of experience in environmental leadership and management. He is the Founder of Eco Systems, a Bangkok-based environmental consultancy helping industrial businesses implement management strategies that increase efficiency, avoid disruption, ensure regulatory compliance and reduce environmental impact, all while promoting sustainability. Born in Miami and raised in the Cayman Islands, Richard began his environmental career at the age of sixteen as an Assistant Naturalist at Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ambassadors of the Environment at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, before working across engineering, environmental health, eco-tourism and policy within the Cayman Islands Government. He earned a BA in Earth Sciences with a minor in Geology (Cum Laude) from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and an MSc(Eng) in Environmental Engineering and Project Management from the University of Leeds, where he was a UK FCDO Chevening Scholar and completed a research thesis on closing down dumpsites and informal sector recycling.
At Eco Systems, Richard specialises in ISO 14001 (Environmental Management Systems) and ISO 45001 (Occupational Health & Safety), helping companies move from ad-hoc environmental initiatives to systemic, certified management systems that deliver measurable business value. His work spans circular economy strategy, waste management, regulatory compliance, and sustainable business transformation across industrial sectors globally. A Member of the Society of Operations Engineers (MSOE) and an APM-qualified project professional, Richard is launching a six-week environmental management accelerator programme to help businesses bridge the gap between sustainability and profitability. His perspective is shaped by a global career spanning three continents: Central America (the Caribbean), Europe (the UK) and Southeast Asia (Thailand), and a deep conviction that “waste is just resources in the wrong place,” that businesses can do good and do well at the same time, and that innovation in our age is happening in only two places: tech and sustainability.
Quick Summary & Highlights
- Small Island Developing States as a sustainability microcosm: The world’s 57 Small Island Developing States (SIDS) face disproportionate climate risk (up to 18% of GDP lost to a single disaster) yet are unlikely laboratories for circular economy thinking due to their closed-loop geography.
- “Mount Trashmore”, a 90-foot case study in scale: The George Town Landfill in Grand Cayman, locally nicknamed “Mount Trashmore,” has absorbed over 130,000 tons of waste annually and illustrates why small islands need long-term, systemic solutions rather than landfill expansion.
- Circular economy, rooted in Boulding and Pearce & Turner: The term was formally coined in Pearce & Turner’s 1990 Economics of Natural Resources and the Environment, building on Kenneth Boulding’s 1966 essay “The Economics of the Coming Spaceship Earth”, a framework now reshaping everything from cement to tourism.
- ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 as a shield against greenwashing: Richard specialises in ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems and ISO 45001 Occupational Health & Safety Management Systems, both built around W. Edwards Deming’s Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle, offering businesses a standardised, auditable path beyond ad-hoc sustainability claims.
- From Caribbean to Bangkok, a three-continent journey: Richard’s career traces a path from Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ambassadors of the Environment at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman to the Cayman Islands Government, and now to Eco Systems in Bangkok, helping industrial businesses bridge sustainability and profitability.
Resources Related to the Episode
Key Concepts & Foundations
- Kenneth Boulding (1966) “The Economics of the Coming Spaceship Earth” – the foundational essay that inspired modern circular economy thinking
- Pearce, D.W. & Turner, R.K. (1990) Economics of Natural Resources and the Environment – the book that formally coined the term “circular economy”
- Circular Economy overview: Ellen MacArthur Foundation – comprehensive introduction to the principles and applications
- Small Island Developing States (SIDS): UN Office of the High Representative for the LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS – official SIDS list and overview
- Deming’s PDCA Cycle: Plan-Do-Check-Act (Wikipedia) – the continuous improvement cycle underpinning ISO management standards
Standards & Certifications
- ISO 14001:2015: Environmental Management Systems – the international standard Richard specialises in
- ISO 45001:2018: Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems – complementary workplace safety standard
- APM Project Fundamentals Qualification: Association for Project Management (PFQ) – Richard’s project management credential
Organisations & Companies
- Eco Systems: Richard’s consultancy (LinkedIn currently primary presence – richardctyson LinkedIn)
- Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ambassadors of the Environment: Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman program – where Richard’s environmental career began
- Ocean Futures Society: oceanfutures.org – Jean-Michel Cousteau’s conservation non-profit
- Cayman Islands Government, Department of Environmental Health: Official site – Richard’s former government employer
- Cayman Islands Government, Department of Tourism: caymanislands.ky – where Richard managed tourism product development
- Dent Global: dent.global – the accelerator programme Peter and Richard are both part of
Education
- University of Leeds, MSc Environmental Engineering and Project Management: Programme page
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographical Sciences: EEGS at UNCC
- UK FCDO Chevening Scholarships: Official programme – Richard was a 2016/17 Chevening Scholar
Cultural & Contextual References
- Mount Trashmore / George Town Landfill: “Half a century of Mount Trashmore” (Cayman Compass) – background on Cayman’s waste crisis
- ReGen Project status (2025 update): “Mount Trashmore continues to grow” (Cayman Compass) – the current situation
- Henry Ford: Encyclopedia Britannica entry – industrial efficiency pioneer Richard studies
- W. Edwards Deming: Deming Institute – the “father of quality” and originator of the PDCA cycle
- Unilever Sustainability Strategy: Unilever Sustainability – a corporate case Richard cites
- IKEA Sustainability Strategy: IKEA Sustainability Report – another corporate example referenced
Episode Chapters
(Chapters are embedded in the episode for quick access, click this to expand and view all chapters and time stamps)
- 0:00 Intro
- 1:59 Guest Intro & Life Across Continents
- 5:13 The Cayman Islands
- 10:05 A 101 on Small Developing Island 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
- 1:04:31 Outro
Connect with Richard C. Tyson
Related Episodes
 | Episode #41 – Don Weatherbee “Catalyzing” change beyond the mine – scaling up metals regeneration to enable the future circular economy (Related Topics: resources recycling, waste valorization) |
 | Episode #44 – Jarrod Luxton What does a best-practice sustainability strategy look like? Discussing nature, valuation, Nordic and Aussie contrasts (Related Topics: sustainable business, value of nature for business) |
 | Episode #47 – Wei-Shan Chen Valuing food waste and greening – the experience in delivering technology and tools to close the carbon and water cycles (Related Topics: waste management, resource valorization, circular economy) |
Credits
- Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach, follow me on: X: @petermbach, Instagram: @petermbach87 or subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/
- Intro/Outro Song: ‘Starsky’ by Alex Keren (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5vZ3lENfDLjkln8scBJ8mW)