Main Content
Why?
Join young people, grandparents, creatives & industry experts
to solve the plastic crisis
Focus: REUSE/ REFILL
"It’s great to see students and industry leaders are being inspired to join the fight against plastic waste during the Government’s Year of Green Action. Eliminating avoidable plastic waste is a part of our landmark 25 Year Environment Plan, but we cannot do it alone. This is a fine example of collaboration to help leave our environment in a better state than we inherited it for future generations."
Changemakers
447+
Passionate Applicants
1,440+
Hours Of Innovation
54%
Female
9%
less than 18yrs old
Impact (Year 1)
18
New Business Ideas
#2
New Startups Incorporated
2 million
Tonnes of Plastic
£9 billion
UK Market Size
What are the influencers saying?
Environment Secretary, UK Government
"It’s great to see students and industry leaders are being inspired to join the fight against plastic waste during the Government’s Year of Green Action. Eliminating avoidable plastic waste is a part of our landmark 25 Year Environment Plan, but we cannot do it alone. This is a fine example of collaboration to help leave our environment in a better state than we inherited it for future generations."
2019-03-22T12:55:41+00:00
Michael Gove MP
Former Environment Secretary
UK Government
https://www.plastichackathon.com/testimonials/environment-secretary-uk-government/
Marks & Spencer
"Depending on whether your reusable water bottle is ‘half full or half empty’, you may view this as another innovation talking shop or the start of something big. For me, it feels like the latter given Dhruv’s ambition of creating an incubator of solutions that will now be developed and launched in the real world.”
2019-03-19T18:39:20+00:00
Roger Wright
Packaging Technologist Lead
M&S Clothing & Home
https://www.plastichackathon.com/testimonials/marks-spencer/
Just Eat
At Just Eat, we are passionate about driving environmentally-friendly behaviour to reduce the impact of our sector on the planet. That’s why we were delighted to sponsor a “Plastics Hackathon” at Imperial College in February 2019 - uniting over 100 sustainability experts, big brands, students, young people and scientists in a call to arms to find alternatives to plastic packaging. It was an inspiring day, enabling us all to learn more about the innovative cross-sector solutions to the problem. Plastic pollution is an issue that threatens us all and we must all act to do something about it.
2019-04-16T12:51:24+00:00
Robin Clark
Director of Business Partnerships
Just Eat UK
https://www.plastichackathon.com/testimonials/just-eat/
Veolia
"An exciting event where we were part of an innovation sprint with like minded, super enthusiastic people. It is incredibly important that we continue to collaborate and look to find solutions across the value chain to help tackle plastic pollution. We look forward to seeing what the next hackathons deliver and where we can continue to provide expertise and insight.”
2019-03-22T11:26:51+00:00
Richard Kirkman
Chief Technology & Innovation Officer
Veolia
https://www.plastichackathon.com/testimonials/veolia/
Giki
"It was fantastic to have so many varied people in one room thinking about plastic. It was especially striking just how engaged, and active, the younger participants were which makes me so optimistic for the future."
2019-03-22T17:52:24+00:00
James Hand
Co-Founder
Giki
https://www.plastichackathon.com/testimonials/giki/
Important Information
Note: The risk of reading this article is that it may inspire you with ideas that take focus away from your day job. There is no doubt, “plastic” is high on the agenda of any corporate executive team and the corporations have launched global calls for solutions to solve the crisis. They have found a lot of…
Whose liability is it anyway? It’s safe to say the plastic crisis is globally known. Many are working hard to find the right solution to single-use plastic and reuse/refill is one alternative. Reuse and refill has been encouraged from a legal and policy perspective from a global down to a national level. Examples include The…
Let’s draw inspiration from current products and business models as well as look at their challenges. At our Plastic Hackathon on Saturday 09 February we do not want to reinvent the wheel but instead come up with innovative and disruptive business solutions. Swipe and sip? You can now pay for your coffee with a reusable…
Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is great and should be piloted in England but we need to be careful with the pilot since the first impression is always the best impression. If the scheme fails, that will be the end of it. I have been doing a little research on reverse vending machines and I could speak to…
BBC’s Blue Planet II has definitely generated awareness about the scale and dangers of plastic pollution. Innocent sea creatures are dying after getting entangled in or eating plastic. Plastic breaks down into microplastics and nanoplastics which can penetrate organs & tissues. Every time we wash our clothing, the washing machine can leach upto 1000,000 microfibers…
When and where?
Core Team
Dhruv Boruah
Founder
Founder The Thames Project, Former Consultant, Plastics Campaigner, Adventurer & Impact Investor
Melanie Fisher
Head of Event
Founder - Zero Waste Goods
Dhilnawaaz Khan
Advisor
Global Head of Digital Events at Marcus Evans
Dr. Leila Sheldrick
Head of Content
Head of Global Innovation Design at Imperial College London
Jake Higgins
Head of Growth
Venture Partner, Growth at Forward Partners
Jonathan Levy
Advisor
Founder - Blue Aurora Media
Keith Freegard
Head of Industry
CoFounder - Axion Group
Teodora Huluta
Volunteer
Gemma Armes
Content
Fundraiser - Canal & River Trust
Clifford Webb
TV & Video Advisor
CEO - 1080 Media TV
Erika Solimeo
Head Organiser - Milan
Ellie
Head Organiser - London
Jasmine
Head of Innovation - London
Phoebe
Head of Operations - London
Amelia
Head of Content Curation - London
Vasilisa
Head of Creativity - London
Harriet
Head of Social Media - London
Tatum
Head Organiser - Cape Town
Penny
Head Organiser - London
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