The Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change at York University is home to the Living Lab Circular Innovation Hub, a leading initiative advancing circular economy and waste research in Canada. Through applied and collaborative work, the Hub brings together academia, industry, and government to support more informed and effective decision making.
EUC Special Projects Assistant Meetkumar Patel spoke with Calvin Lakhan, Project Director, to learn more about the Hub’s work, ongoing projects, and future direction.
Q. For those who may not be familiar, how would you describe the Circular Innovation Hub and what is happening in terms of projects and research right now?
I would describe the Circular Innovation Hub as Canada’s largest research initiative focused on circular economy and waste, which is an area that historically has not received much attention but is now becoming increasingly important. Our core mandate is to bring together academia, industry, and government to support applied research that can inform real world decision making. A big part of our work is focused on evidence-based decision making, because a lot of decisions in sustainability are still driven by political or emotional considerations rather than data. We work with a wide range of partners, including municipalities, federal agencies, and major consumer goods companies, to better understand how materials are used and how end of life systems function, with the goal of improving sustainability outcomes through data.
Q. Could you share some specific projects or research areas the Hub is currently working on?
A lot of our work challenges dominant assumptions around materials, especially plastics. We approach this through what I call material agnosticism, where no material is inherently good or bad and everything depends on how it is used within a system. For example, we are working with the American Chemistry Council in the United States to look at what happens if plastics are removed from grocery systems, and what we are finding is that removing plastics would significantly increase food costs, which has implications for affordability and access. We are also working on education initiatives with the Vinyl Council of Canada to develop plastics education for K12 students, which is aimed at helping people better understand how materials function within systems. Another major area of our work is Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), where we are working with several states in the United States including New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Colorado. What we are seeing is that these systems can increase costs without necessarily improving recycling rates, so our role is to assess what the data actually shows rather than promoting a particular solution.
Q. Could you elaborate on key initiatives such as the open data standard and the language of sustainability, and how they contribute to the Hub’s broader research and impact?
These initiatives are really about improving both how data is generated and how it is communicated. The open data standard project is linked to the federal government’s proposed plastics registry, which is intended to track how plastics move through the supply chain. Our role has been to develop a standardized way for companies to report that data so that it can be used consistently and compared across systems, although the future of the registry is still uncertain because of policy and industry challenges. Without standardized data, it becomes very difficult to evaluate performance or make informed decisions. The language of sustainability project focuses on how we communicate environmental information, because technical metrics like carbon emissions are not always meaningful to the public. We are working on translating that information into more relatable terms, while also recognizing that communication needs to be adapted to different audiences since culture and lived experience shape how people interpret sustainability messages. Together, these projects support our broader goal of ensuring that data is not only produced but also accessible and useful.
Q. How does the Hub’s work connect beyond the university from communities to industry to policy?
Our work is designed to extend beyond the university by collaborating directly with governments, municipalities, and industry partners. The goal is to ensure that research is actually used in real world decision making, whether that is in policy development or operational practices. We work with stakeholders to help them design better systems and evaluate the impacts of their decisions, always with a focus on grounding those decisions in evidence. One of the most important aspects of the Hub is that it operates as a living lab, which creates opportunities for students to be directly involved in applied research. Students can work on projects, contribute to research, and engage with external partners, which gives them practical experience that connects academic learning with real world applications. We also offer internships and collaboration opportunities, which are valuable for students interested in careers in circular economy and sustainability.
Q. Looking ahead, what are you hoping to grow or build through the Hub in the next few years?
The main goal is to see our research translate into real world outcomes, particularly by influencing policy and industry decisions. We want to strengthen the role of evidence based decision making in sustainability and continue expanding our collaborations, including partnerships with international institutions. Ultimately, the more we can ensure that decisions are informed by data, the greater our impact will be.
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Calvin Lakhan is a researcher and faculty member at York University’s Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, where he leads the Living Lab Circular Innovation Hub, one of Canada’s largest research initiatives focused on circular economy and waste systems. His work focuses on evaluating municipal waste policies, improving recycling system efficiency, and examining how social factors such as race and equity shape environmental behaviour. Lakhan has authored more than 30 academic publications and over 100 applied research reports, and his work has been widely featured across national media, reflecting his role as a leading voice in evidence based waste and sustainability research.