Filter to tackle ‘unprecedented’ levels of ocean microplastics
Green technology company Cleaner Seas Group has launched an investment round to help further develop its filter, which is designed to help tackle microplastic pollution in the world’s oceans.
The Cornwall-based company is the creator of an internationally patent-pending retrofit and integrated filter that fits all washing machines and captures and recycles microfibres as small as one micron.
Cleaner Seas Group is aiming to raise £1m through a private investment and crowdfunding campaign and the green tech start-up is forecasting £45m in revenues in 2025.
Cleaner Seas Group will launch its microfibre filtration system via distributors and directly to UK consumers later this summer. The system is priced at £90.
According to the start-up, the retrofit plug-and-play, closed-loop system consists of a self-powered filter that requires no mains power and a recyclable cartridge, which captures up to 700,000 harmful microfibres each time a washing machine is used, preventing them from being released into the environment.
With an estimated 1.4 million trillion microfibres in the world’s oceans, microplastic pollution is one of the biggest unregulated environmental issues facing the planet. Its impact on marine life has been well-documented, with plankton long consuming microfibres which can contain cancer-causing chemicals which are now being found within our food chain, says Cleaner Seas Group.
The team is also in a second round of testing with a global washing machine manufacturer, focused on supplying the technology within new models. The company is forecasting its initial projected revenues of around £1.3m this year to rise substantially to more than £45m by 2025 on the back of growing consumer demand and action by the international community aimed at reducing microplastics pollution.
France has introduced legislation for mandatory filters to be fitted on all new washing machines by 2025 while a new bill requiring similar measures within the UK is currently progressing through Westminster. Cleaner Seas is also a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on plastics.
The investment round will go towards building manufacturing capacity and bolstering the team to support global growth of the business.
Cleaner Seas CEO Dave Miller says: “We founded our business on the urgent need to address the unprecedented level of microplastics in our oceans and have developed innovative and easy-to-use technology that will make a huge impact in this quest. Our microfibre filtration system has a 90 per cent plus capture rate removing plastic waste particles as small as one micron from a washing cycle, preventing these from escaping into our environment where they are having such a grave impact.
“With a growing movement that includes consumers, goods manufacturers and governments wanting to address the impact of microplastic pollution, our offering provides an ideal and affordable solution. Our innovation enables anyone, from a small household to the head of a global company, to play a part in reducing the level of microfibres in our oceans.”
