Saving the Seas from Microfibre Pollution With Avril Greenaway
Did you know a single load of laundry releases up to 700,000 microfibres every wash into our waterways? But solutions do exist. We chat to Avril Greenaway, Co-founder & Impact Director of Cleaner Seas Group, about their filter system to prevent microfibre and microplastic pollution from ending up in the ocean.
Avril discusses her surprising career journey - from starting in marketing & design to joining Cleaner Seas - as well as winning the Ocean Impact Pitchfest 2023 and attending our INNOVOCEAN event in Sydney. She also talks about innovating with integrity, how challenges can make a company resilient and even present opportunities, as well as advice for emerging entrepreneurs.
See below for show notes, including Avril’s advice, relevant links, and more!
Show Notes
what is the solution that Cleaner Seas Group have developed to the ocean challenge that you've identified?
Problem: So the problem that we're tackling is microfibre pollution. Microfibres are a major pollutant. It's a very tiny thing, but it's a massive problem for our planet. Approximately 13 million tonnes of synthetic fibres or synthetic waste is entering our ocean each year. Basically, microfibers are shed from our clothes. When you wash your clothes, 700,000 microfibers go into the wastewater system. That's approximately 91 million per household, per year from your laundry. And they're difficult to capture, you know? They’re not being meaningfully caught. And that's because of their tiny size. It's because they're very long and thin. If you think about the fibres in your clothes, they're just very tiny, very long. And that causes lots of problems.
There is a certain amount that a water treatment works, but they end up in sludge, which gets spread on the fields as fertiliser. Those microfibres that are in that sludge are going into the soil. They're then getting washed into the rivers with the rain and into our seas, into our ocean. The microfibres that aren't caught are just going straight out into the water system. So however you look at it, and you know, it's very unlikely and it's a very expensive operation to upgrade water treatment works. It's unlikely to happen for a long time. So really the most effective way that you can capture those microfibres is in the laundry setting. So, you know, on our home washing machines and in commercial settings.
Their Solution: Cleaner Seas Group have made it our mission to protect the ocean, to protect the planet by developing innovative solutions to remove microplastics from the environment. So specifically in this case, we developed tech to remove microfibres from laundry in a closed-loop system. We developed technology across three pillars:
Domestic: so a retrofit filter which you can fit to any domestic washing machine. It's an easy plug and play system.
Commercial: We've got a commercial filter for all commercial settings. So commercial laundries to cruise ships, we've got harbours that installed them in their amenity centres
Intergreated/OEM: So we're working with white goods companies to integrate our solution into new washing machines. And that's super exciting, you know, that's what we want to be. That every new washing machine is fitted with one of these microfibre filters.
But obviously, there's millions of washing machines out there that need a filter now, because every time you're washing your clothes, this pollution is happening. So all of the filters across those pillars use the same closed-loop tech.
Is there any key learnings or experienceS or words of wisdom garnered through your journey that you'd like to share with emerging entrepreneurs?
Yeah, I think some of the key things would be:
Assembling a great team, and making those great foundations at the beginning. So your close team, your board, pulling together those complementary skills that will help you achieve your business goals. Knowing what those goals are, and pulling together a team that can help you achieve that is so important. And also, you know, just having the people that have the skills to help you grow your business. Particularly if you're thinking about investment, putting together a good business plan and all those things that you need to come together. And just ensuring that you're aligned and have a shared vision, you know? Again, it sounds very simple, but it's so important.
And not only, I guess, building that immediate team, but building that bigger team or support system around you. And we've been super lucky to be well-supported by people, organisations, and businesses that we've met along the way. And we're continuing to bring new people into our team and family.
So relationships, you know, build those relationships. Again, it's super important and that's how we make a difference.
Choose investors wisely. If you know If you're going through rounds of investment, particularly if they might want to have a representative on the board, think about alignment. But also, what can someone bring to the table? So they might have some really brilliant insights or skills. They might be able to introduce you to new partners, new markets, or territories or, you know, just bring some really brilliant insights to the table that you might not have. So I think just bear that in mind when you're growing.
And, you know, for a lot of startups, these will be new skills and opportunities that you might not have experienced before. So just bearing those things in mind I think is really helpful. And to collaborate, that’s the other thing to keep at the forefront of your mind.
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