Brighton-based sustainable design studio Gomi designed a 12,000mAh portable charger made from 100% ‘non-recyclable’ plastic waste and repurposed batteries that would otherwise go to the landfill.

Plastic waste makes up 85% of the pollution on beaches. Each year, 150 billion kilograms of flexible plastics (LDPE) are produced worldwide, like plastic bags and bubble wrap. This type of plastic is not everywhere accepted for recycling.

Battery waste is a growing issue worldwide. Annually, 3 billion batteries are produced, but they are difficult to recycle. The demand for especially li-ion batteries is growing, which will only increase the pile of waste batteries.

Using these two waste streams, Gomi designed high-powered everyday portable chargers. They work closely with food wholesalers in Sussex to recycle all of the plastic packaging waste, intercepting it before it goes to the landfill. They also accept plastic waste from local households and businesses.

The chargers are handmade in Gomi’s studio in Brighton. After use, the studio offers a free return service to ensure the chargers are fully recycled. They are designed to be easy to dismantle.

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.”

The portable charger is now available on Kickstarter. Later this year, Gomi aims to release a portable charger made from electric car batteries.

Earlier, Gomi designed a portable Bluetooth speaker. Click here to read more about this project.

Photos: Gomi