Meet the Founder: Lottie Dalziel of Banish and founder of BRAD
I’m thrilled to spotlight Lottie Dalziel, the inspiring founder behind Banish and the innovator of BRAD, an Australian-first household recycling program tackling the hard-to-recycle items most of us don’t know what to do with.
From bottle tops and beauty containers to blister packs and beyond, BRAD partners with local micro-recyclers to turn “non-recyclables” into new resources. Lottie’s vision goes beyond sustainability; it’s about empowering individuals with practical solutions that make a real impact on the planet.
Join us as we dive into Lottie’s journey, motivations and the future of waste reduction.
W&CF: Thank you for taking the time to chat with me, Lottie. Before we dive into everything you’ve created, can you share what you were doing before launching Banish, and what moment or experience inspired you to take that first step into the world of sustainability?
Lottie: Thanks for having me! Before I started Banish I worked as a journalist for some of Australia’s biggest lifestyle magazines. I started Banish off the back of a New Year’s resolution to “do better for the planet.” I didn’t know what exactly it looked like but I knew that I could be doing more when it came to the planet. When I started trying to do better it was really hard, confusing and overwhelming. I thought why not use my skills in journalism to help educate large audiences on how they can take small simple steps to make a big change in their life.
W&CF: Banish’s mission to “Educate, Empower, and Inspire Sustainable Change” is such a powerful guiding force and one that clearly resonates with your growing community. Why is education such a central pillar for you when creating Banish and how do you see knowledge as the catalyst for real environmental action?
Lottie: I believe that everyone wants to do more for the planet but they just don’t know how. By teaching people small things I think it is the catalyst for change and impact in so many different environmental areas. People could learn about recycling and then be inspired to change their light bulbs. It all starts with a trusted, reliable source of information. Seven years on that’s exactly what Banish is to so many Australians!
It’s also the reason why I decided to write a book. 365+ Ways to Save Your Money + The Planet at The Same Time it’s my way of putting down on paper 500+ actionable steps that people can take to reduce their impact but also help their pockets! It’s a common misconception that it costs money to live more sustainably where in my opinion it saves you money!
W&CF: One of the biggest sustainability challenges I’ve faced personally is knowing what parts of beauty products can actually be recycled - lids, pumps, mixed materials - it can be very confusing, especially if the brand doesn’t include recycling information on their packaging, and I know I’m not alone. What are some of the most common hard-to-recycle items that end up in the too-hard basket? And what inspired you to think outside the box and find innovative, tangible ways to repurpose these tricky waste streams?
Lottie: You aren’t alone! So many people feel like this and I did when I first started BRAD. I was frustrated that I couldn’t recycle items that I could clearly see were recyclable. Things that were too small or deemed too difficult to recycle by anyone else because they didn’t think there were enough of them. I put the call out online to our community to ask them to send them to me in the mail so we could pool together our resources to make an impact. It is an odd concept but it turns out I’m not the only one who feels like this and so many people also wanted to be able to recycle their hard to recycle items. Initially it started in my backyard then grew into a small storage space until we opened the first sustainability hub at Central station.
Difficult to recycle items often include those with mixed materials, similar to the pumps and sprays you’ve mentioned but it could also be blister packs, beauty products like mascaras or bronzer palettes. Other things that go in the too hard basket are items that are really small because big recyclers don’t see the value in them, things like breadtags, bottle top lids and soy sauce fishies.
W&CF: For those who haven’t yet used BRAD, can you break down how it actually works? What happens to an item from the moment it’s dropped off at a BRAD location to when it’s finally repurposed by one of your incredible Australian micro-recyclers?
Lottie: We receive items either in the mail through our Pre-Paid Label system or people drop them off at our Sustainability Hub at Central Station. Once we receive them we separate them into the different resource streams for example plastic tubes, pumps and sprays, blister packs, mixed beauty products. From there some of the streams leave the hub to be processed by different micro-recyclers and we process the bottle top lids ourselves. For those we separate the lids by colour and the type of plastic then we wash and shred the lids. Once they are shredded they can be turned into products like these.
W&CF: Creating a national recycling program for items that kerbside bins reject sounds like no small feat. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in establishing BRAD? Whether logistical, regulatory, or even in shifting people’s perceptions around waste?
Lottie: How much time do you have?! There’s a reason why no one else is doing it, it’s hard. Recycling firstly costs money and the reason why other organisations don’t accept these items is because they are expensive to process. There’s no rule book on how to recycle a lot of these items so that has meant that we have to do a lot of the research and development ourselves which takes time and also costs money. We’re fortunate to have such an amazing community of supporters so there’s never a shortage of recycling to be done though!
W&CF: One of the most exciting aspects of BRAD is how it supports local innovation through Australian micro-recyclers. How did you go about finding these partners and what were you looking for to ensure they aligned with BRAD’s values and sustainability goals?
Lottie: Research, research and more research. I found our first recyclers through googling and social media and then as we’ve grown we have lots of companies now approaching us. The micro-recycling industry in Australia is pretty small but it’s one that I hope to see grow in the future.
W&CF: Public behaviour around waste can be tricky to shift, but BRAD seems to have struck a real chord. What has the response been like from everyday Australians and are there any moments or stories that stand out to you as evidence that the program is making a real impact?
Lottie: It still blows me away just how many people love BRAD and Banish. I am so proud of the impact we’ve been able to make. From the letters people write to us in the mail about having no access to recycling until BRAD came to how they're inspiring their kids to get involved with recycling because of the information we’re providing.
W&CF: As BRAD continues to grow, what’s your vision for its future? Do you see it scaling nationally or even being replicated internationally, and what would it take to bring this kind of accessible, community-powered recycling to a broader audience?
Lottie: That’s a great question. My goal is that Banish continues to grow as a trusted source of information for people on how to live more sustainably, reduce their consumption and recycle right. As people send their recycling to us in the post it doesn’t make environmental or financial sense to expand internationally. In the future I’d love to see large corporations and industries taking responsibility for these items so that they don't have to come to specialty recyclers like us. Designing out packaging at the source and extended producer responsibility.
W&CF: For businesses and brands who want to align with BRAD’s mission and create more circular, low-waste systems, what key considerations or first steps would you advise? What does true partnership look like in a space driven by sustainability and impact over convenience?
Lottie: We work with so many likeminded businesses to help them achieve their goals. This looks different for each of them but it could be using our BRAD Mega Box collection point to make an impact as a business or having Banish help educate your team on how to live more sustainably. Our corporate work is some of my favourite parts of the job!
W&CF: For someone just beginning their Plastic Free July journey, what tips would you share especially when it comes to those deceptively tricky items like beauty packaging, pump bottles, or bottle tops? How can people make meaningful progress without feeling overwhelmed?
Lottie: Everyone’s sustainability journey is different, it’s not one-size-fits-all but for me, I would encourage people to use it up and then make a more sustainable purchase. If you have a perfectly good make-up bag right now, use up each item before switching to something new, and when you do make a decision not only for your pocket but also for the planet too.
W&CF: Looking ahead, what legacy do you hope BRAD and Banish will leave, not just for how Australians manage waste, but for how people around the world think about, interact with and take responsibility for their everyday consumption?
Lottie: My aim with everything that I do is to leave the planet in a better state than the one that I found it in. I hope that others can be inspired by my story and it can help them create change in their communities.
FAST FIVE
- Favourite place in the world: Spain or Noosa
- The beauty product you can't live without: Mascara
- Book you are currently reading: All the colours of the dark - Chris Witton
- A song that lives rent free in your head: Better Together - Jack Johnson, shake It Off - Taylor Swift
- A life changing event or experience: Winning NSW Young Australian of the Year 2023, it helped grow BRAD and Banish to new levels
- Who or what inspires you the most in life? If I was to name one person it would be David Attenborough but daily I am inspired by our amazing community. From the care they take in packing their BRAD boxes to the passion they also show for the planet it keeps me going.
As we reflect on Plastic Free July and the impact we each have through our daily choices, Lottie’s work with Banish and BRAD serves as a reminder that real change is both possible and powerful when it's driven by purpose, transparency and community. Her commitment to reimagining waste not as a burden, but as an opportunity, is reshaping how Australians - and hopefully the world - think about sustainability from the ground up.
A huge thank you to Lottie for sharing her insights, energy and passion with us. If her journey has inspired you, now is the perfect time to explore BRAD, rethink your waste habits, and start making small but mighty changes that matter.
If you want to learn more about Banish and BRAD visit their website.