Gomi Portable Chargers – sustainable tech products, powered by repurposed waste batteries and handmade from ‘non-recyclable’ plastic waste

Gomi Portable Charger 16

Brighton-based sustainable design studio Gomi has created an environmentally-friendly
12,000mAh Portable Charger made from 100% non-recyclable plastic waste, with 100% of the
power coming from repurposed batteries saved from otherwise going to landfill.
The design studio originally won 10,000 from the Environment Now Programme to kickstart
the project in January 2018, and went on to gain global media coverage with their first
sustainable innovation; the Gomi Speakers. Now, their aim is to scale-up and introduce their
consumer electronic products made from waste materials that are otherwise destined for
landfill, to the mass global market – at an affordable price of under 40 each.

Gomi will be launching their limited-edition high-powered Portable Chargers, and you can
get one via Kickstarter.

Plastic waste makes up 85% of the pollution on our beaches around the world, and every year
the UK alone throws away 1.2 billion kilos of flexible plastics. Worldwide, 150 billion kilos of
flexible plastics are produced every year. Flexible plastic (LDPE) consists of plastic bags,
bubble wrap and pallet wrap, which are all not accepted by UK councils for recycling.
Battery waste is a growing issue worldwide, currently over 3 billion batteries are produced
every year with no real way to recycle or reuse them in commercial products. With global
demand for li-ion batteries forecasted to grow 10% a year from 2020-25, the waste pile of
batteries will carry on getting bigger. If electric and hybrid vehicles are removed from the
forecast, the number falls to just 4% per year. Gomi is pushing hard to work with electric car
manufacturers to ensure that their batteries has a second life. They hope to release portable
chargers made from electric car batteries later in the year too.

Gomi taps into these specific waste streams, and transforms it from a pollutant waste into
high-powered everyday Portable Chargers.
Gomi starts every project with one clear question – ‘How can we turn pollutant waste
materials into cherished products that people will love using everyday?’ and began with
these basic principles when designing the Portable Chargers:

? Big enough to hold enough battery power to keep you charged for long periods
without recharging, but slim enough to fit in your pocket.
? Beautiful, with each one being an original work of art. This emotionally durable
relationship people have with their objects can be enhanced through owning
something truly individual.
? Easy to manufacture in house in our Brighton workspace, which would benefit the
local economy and avoid any long-distance outsourcing which would add to the
carbon footprint of the product.

? Easy to disassemble back into raw materials after use, to be easily upcycled into
new future products.
? Affordable and accessible to all, keeping the cost of the product under 40 each.

Gomi works closely with food wholesalers in Sussex, to recycle all of the plastic packaging
waste – intercepting it before it’s sent to incineration or landfill. The Studio also accepts
plastic waste from local households and businesses.
The Studio is currently looking at new ways we can scale-up their production process to
intercept more waste, and we hope to use the Kickstarter funds to achieve this.
Sustainable Designer and Manager at Gomi, Tom Meades, says ‘Over the past 9 months, we
have diverted around 500kg of ‘non-recyclable’ plastic packaging waste from going to
landfill. We hope that by introducing an affordable, fully-circular product built from
recycled plastic material, we can increase this amount by over 10x. Helping to clean the
planet of pollutant waste streams, but also create fun, everyday cherished products
that people love to use.’

Gomi are also offering a free return service to ensure the chargers are fully recycled at the
end of life. Gomi can simply remelt the plastic down to make new products from.

To keep up with their progress beyond crowdfunding, you can follow Gomi on Instagram or
sign up to their newsletter on their website.

Gomi Kickstarter:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gomi-eco-tech/gomi-portable-chargers-that-clean-the-planet

For press enquiries, please contact:
Pawan Saunya (Whatsapp) +44 7401 065966
hi@gomi.design
www.gomi.design

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Contact Information:

hi@gomi.design

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