Show Notes
We recycle steel. We're rather good at it. But recycling isn't the same as reuse, and that gap is quietly costing us. In the latest episode of the Responsible Raw Materials podcast, engineer Gareth Byatt makes the case with a simple question: can a steel beam simply remain a steel beam? Today, when a building comes down, we crush much of it, downcycling steel into low-grade rebar and burying valuable niobium, copper and nickel along with it. The materials survive, but their value doesn't. Gareth's argument is that reuse has to be designed in from the very start. If we only ask what we can recover once the demolition crew arrives, most of the important decisions have already been made. He also reframes our towns and cities as mines in their own right, full of steel, copper and concrete we've already paid to extract. What would our cities look like if we designed every building to be taken apart? Listen now: search 'Responsible Raw Materials' wherever you get your podcasts, or visit responsiblerawmaterials.com. Produced by Critical Productions.
More from Responsible Raw Materials Podcast
Dr Matt Grimshaw is an exploration geologist and a Yorkshireman through and through. His curiosity about the landscape took him from Leeds to the Yukon, collecting soil samples by helicopter during the white gold rush, then back for a PhD on the region’s gold. After years of technical consulting worldwide, he stepped sideways into risk and sustainability, and has since co-founded Worth Discovery. Matt’s challenge is to the assumptions the industry rarely questions. Finding a deposit is not the same as finding a project. With mines taking fifteen to twenty years to reach production, why are so many decisions still based on designs from decades ago? And why justify exploration with shifting narratives, from rare earths to defence, rather than the enduring role of a steward of the land? Responsibility, he argues, can’t simply be declared. It has to be demonstrated. The conversation also moves through Yorkshire’s mining past, from Pennine lead to the Woodsmith Mine, the Hunger Games of junior exploration, why generalists matter, and the question his daughters will one day ask. Produced by Critical Productions. Learn more at responsiblerawmaterials.com
What happens when a geologist’s daughter grows up, ignores the rocks, and then finds herself championing the very industry she once overlooked? In this episode, Susie - affectionately known as “Minerals Mum” - joins us to explore her journey from product design and teaching into the world of minerals, geology and extractives. Growing up in Cornwall with a geologist for a dad, Susie was surrounded by rocks and mining heritage, but it took a different career path and a passion for education to bring her back to the sector. Now, through Minerals Matter, she is working to change perceptions of the minerals industry and inspire the next generation. We talk about taking geology and mining into schools, the importance of field trips and teacher engagement, the huge range of careers within the sector, and why young people need to understand just how much modern life depends on minerals. Susie also shares the challenges facing the industry, from an ageing workforce and skills shortages to misconceptions about mining, and the exciting opportunities emerging as Cornwall’s minerals sector embraces new technologies and projects. From STEM fairs and school visits to encouraging more women into the industry, this is a conversation about awareness, passion, collaboration and creating that first spark of curiosity. And yes, there’s plenty of talk about rocks along the way. Produced by Critical Productions. Sponsored by Satarla. Learn more at responsiblerawmaterials.com
How can better information help us keep critical raw materials in circulation? In this episode, Sarah speaks with Jessica Green, an expert in traceability, circularity and digital product passports, about the role of data in building a more circular economy. Jessica explains why circularity is about much more than recycling, and why products need to be designed with repair, reuse, remanufacturing and material recovery in mind. She explains how digital product passports could help us understand where materials come from, what products contain, how they perform throughout their lives, and what happens to them at end of life. The conversation also explores the challenges around data quality, verification, trust, regulation and international standards, and how better traceability could create greater accountability across global supply chains. Produced by Critical Productions. Sponsored by Satarla. Learn more at responsiblerawmaterials.com
Platinum Group Metals and the 100% Recycled Myth, with Emma Schofield. Emma Schofield is a chemist who spent 22 years in the platinum group metals (PGM) industry at Johnson Matthey, the world's largest secondary refiner. A former inorganic chemistry lecturer at Trinity College Dublin, she found her way into industry by reading the labels on lab bottles. Her work spanned catalyst chemistry, new uses for palladium and PGM policy, and she now consults as an associate with Satarla. PGM recycling is one of the circular economy's quiet success stories, driven by value and two centuries of stewardship. Yet Emma challenges the growing demand for 100% recycled platinum. With the market in deficit and only around a fifth of annual demand met by recycling, one buyer claiming recycled metal simply pushes others towards mined supply. The industry, she argues, still needs mining. The conversation also covers catalytic converter recycling, closed-loop supply chains, why design for recycling loses out to performance, extended producer responsibility, battery passports, the risks of stockpiling small metal markets, and why policymakers should swap cross-assuming for cross-learning. Produced by Critical Productions. Sponsored by Satarla. Learn more at responsiblerawmaterials.com
Liv Carroll is a geologist and mining transformation specialist whose career spans the UK minerals industry, mineral exploration in Turkey and a decade using data and AI to transform mining and metals companies. The spark came at nine, when the Gaia Atlas of Planet Management showed her the scale of global resource use, later leading her to choose geology over medicine. She now runs her own advisory firm and starts a part-time PhD in January.Her research asks how to build secondary metal supply chains at scale, recovering metals from wind turbines, EV batteries and copper pipes. Liv argues business as usual cannot meet critical minerals demand driven by electrification, data centres and defence. The harder barrier isn't engineering. It's supply, demand, skills and policy, with government, industry and academia needing to work as one system.The conversation also covers the circular economy, why the UK exports its scrap copper, why transformation should be iterative rather than linear, the habit of thinking two steps ahead, and the value of diverse thinking in the minerals industry and why a thriving community is one you help build.Produced by Critical Productions. Sponsored by Satarla. Learn more at responsiblerawmaterials.com