Zombie Plastics, founded by Chris Smith, aims to tackle plastic pollution on the beaches of South Wales while crafting beautiful products from plastic waste. Zombie began working with ARCS at the beginning of 2024 to adapt their business model and discover new ways of growing the business.
Tell me about your business…
I founded Zombie Plastics, a community interest company, around 18 months ago with the primary goal of reusing and recycling plastic waste washed up on Gower beaches in South Wales. Growing up I spent a lot of time surfing and I’ve seen the impact that rubbish, including fishing ropes, general plastics, and nets, can have on the local environment. I always wondered if there was a way we could take ownership and utilise these materials to create something positive. I did engineering at college level and I’ve always liked practical and creative work, so doing something practical with a positive impact away from a computer screen seemed like a win-win solution.
What do you make?
We started trading in October 2023 and decided to create some Christmas decorations as they’re relatively inexpensive to make and allowed us to test the market - they were well received. Each decoration was labelled with the beach the plastic was collected from, and it added an emotional connection for our buyers. Christmas decorations are also kept for years which minimises the chance they’ll go to waste. We also create plant pots and carabiners, but we’re hoping to move into larger pieces in the future. We’re currently selling online and in a handful of independent shops to test our products, but we’re looking to expand soon. We like to think of all products being designed by nature as we don’t add colourants to the plastics, so every piece is truly unique.
What was the process with ARCS?
I met Max Green at the Green Economy Conference in 2023, we had a chat about the circular economy, and I signed up for support. The process has been great, we’ve done three workshops and I quickly learnt how bespoke their support could be. As a young business, I appreciated that we were able to sit down and assess the current business structure before jumping into blind solutions. There’s lots of help out there, but the unique support I’ve received from the ARCS team has been great!
We started with a focus on the business model, we really benefitted from having a new set of eyes and a team to help keep us grounded in which direction to follow next. As a new business you can be pulled in multiple directions, so having the support to solidify our business model was so important.
Re-moulding plastic isn't straightforward. We need to assess the integrity of each type and determine if it's salvageable after prolonged exposure to sunlight and other environmental factors. The ARCS team conducted research to identify effective processes and best practice that would enable us to accelerate our growth. Operationally, sourcing and processing materials takes a lot of time – we rely heavily on volunteers to help with beach cleans. But as so many organisations, like the National Trust, are organising beach cleans, we decided it would be more beneficial if we dedicated our efforts to the processing methods.
We also conducted a feasibility study to explore the viability of larger product production. This, combined with the process review will allow us to create products like chairs and benches which would mean we can accept more substantial plastic donations to scale our impact.
We also explored ways to integrate our product with service offerings, creating educational days where the children can see the process, from sorting plastics to a finished product, to foster a positive mindset about plastics and the environment from an early age.
Do you have any competitors?
There is competition out there, but we’d rather collaborate than compete as that’s the best way to raise awareness of our mission. We focus on beach plastics as these are less recycled materials and it allows us to work with the community. Most of these plastics would typically go to landfill or be incinerated. We’ve already worked with companies like Blueprint in Llanelli who are aiming to establish a plastic recycling workspace – collaborating and sharing knowledge has benefited both businesses. Collaboration over competition is what I think we need in this sector.
Where do you see the future of your business?
We're developing an ID badge holder for Swansea University, made from plastic collected during beach cleans at Bay Campus. We aim to print a QR code that allows users to scan and trace the journey from the beach clean through production to the final product. This has been in the works for the last year but hopefully, the project will be completed early next year.
We aim to improve the breakdown process for softer plastics, like nets (often called fisherman’s kisses). This involves several steps before transforming them into plastic pellets suitable for larger products, such as furniture. If we can fine-tune the process and reduce the number of steps, then this could save us time and increase product production in the process. We’re looking to begin selling furniture in the spring of 2025, thanks to our successful feasibility study, so this is a priority for us over the next few months.
We aim to engage more with the local community and become Wales’ hub for beach-cleaning programs to recycle plastic waste. Creating a program that gives back, whether that’s through furniture-making or collaborative projects, would be an incredible experience!
Why should other companies work with ARCS?
One of the biggest outcomes is the clarity on how to build the business as we move forward and how we can identify opportunities for business scaling. Through the modelling workshops and feasibility study we’ve been able to understand the synergies across our business, capitalising on cross-functional opportunities. The whole process has helped us sharpen our focus and re-energised the business, we’ve really appreciated the genuine support.