{"id":2321,"date":"2026-02-17T08:10:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T08:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/petermbach.com\/?page_id=2321"},"modified":"2026-04-20T19:32:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T19:32:39","slug":"061-richard-tyson","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/petermbach.com\/index.php\/podcast\/061-richard-tyson\/","title":{"rendered":"TGC Podcast Episode 061 – Richard Tyson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Grand Challengers Podcast Episode #61<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Waste is “resources in the wrong place” – from small islands to circular economy and certifications<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Guest: Richard C. Tyson<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

April 21st, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Overview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a> in Episode 47.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a> in Episode 44 and Don Weatherbee’s vision of a circular minerals economy<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Episode Teaser<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n