The problem:
We rely on research for making discoveries, solving mysteries, and curing diseases, but on this journey a huge amount of single-use plastic waste is produced. In the biomedical research sector alone, 5.5 million tonnes of single-use plastic waste is produced globally, the equivalent to the annual output of household plastic waste in the UK. The majority of this waste is sent to landfill or for incineration, but with research institutes andg private companies facing increasing economic pressure and new regulations encouraging more sustainable practices in the race towards carbon neutrality, researchers have been calling for a change to the current wasteful research culture.
The solution:
Our innovation lays the foundation for a circular plastic supply chain in the research sector. Our proprietary sorting system ensures the plastic is well-sorted by colour and material type before we apply a novel decontamination process to remove hazardous substances.
After decontamination, our plastic will be engineered into valuable high-grade recycled plastic pellets, ready for use in the recycled plastic and manufacturing industries. By turning these high-grade decontaminated plastics into pellets which can later be manufactured into lab consumables, we will create the first recycled plastic supply chain in the research sector. As such, we will be uniquely placed to manufacture recycled lab-grade consumables in a market set to reach £49.6 billion by 2027.
In the next 12-18 months, our ambition is to launch a commercial pilot. By working with early adopters, we will optimise the workflow and logistics of our waste management service, whilst partnering with manufacturers to trial making lab consumables with our recycled plastics.
Traction:
- 2019-2020: Winner of University of Bath Dragon’s Den Competition
- 2020: Winner of University of Surrey Student Enterprise Innovation Award
- 2020: Winner of University of Bath Innovation Award
- 2020 & 21: TATA Varsity semi-finalist
- 2021: University Start-up World Cup Finalist
- 2021: Guildford innovation award finalist
- 2021: Winner of an SME Innovation Voucher to conduct Life-Cycle Analysis
Associated Programme
