News / recycling
The Bristol company transforming ocean plastics into clothing and goods
Ecotribo has cleaned, processed and repurposed 1,020Kg of plastic from oceans to date – and counting.
The eco-design business based in St Philip’s Marsh is on a mission to clean up our seas and use old fishing nets and waste to create homeware and clothing.
Water pollution and sewage are a threat to marine life and biodiversity. According to the Marine Conservation Society, approximately 5.000 items of marine pollution have been found per mile of beach in the UK.
Every year, an estimated 11m tonnes of plastics enter the ocean. Not only this, but the UK has lost up to 92 per cent of its seagrass in the last century.
The fishing nets and discarded plastics used by Ecotribo are recovered from nearby beaches in Cornwall and Scotland, sourced from coastal charities.
Once the plastics are brought back from the water, they’re processed, cleaned, and shredded ready to be recycled into plant pots, one of the company’s main products.
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Tyrone Probert, founder and designer, experiments with ways to convert masses of discarded fishing nets and ocean waste into pottery.
“I wanted to use design to do good, to help people and the planet,” he tells Bristol24/7.
Ecotribo has recently taken delivery of their latest batch of dumped plastic and fishing nets, recovered from the Cornish coast by a 113-year-old sailboat working for a recycling charity.
“I can’t tell you how pleased I am when I get a new shipment of fishing nets and discarded plastics – my latest creation I’m developing is a solar lamp made from 100 per cent ocean waste. Every bit of waste we use gives the seas a chance to renew itself – and means that marine life is that little bit safer,” said Tyrone.
Ecotribo’s mission is focused on promoting “positive outcomes for coastal communities,” according to Tyrone.
The company does this by “cleaning our oceans, promoting recycling and demonstrating how people and businesses can renew, recycle, restore and regenerate the planet and the economy”.
Tyrone adds: “Ten per cent of profit goes directly towards our coastal cleanup charities to help with education and outreach programs,” he added.
As for the future of Ecotribo? Tyrone explained: “I want to scale the amount of materials we locate and the coasts we clean and the process and recycle the materials into a growing range of products.”
This piece of independent journalism is supported by NatWest and the Bristol24/7 public and business membership
Main photo: Ecotribo
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- Tackling the big questions climate change poses
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