About us
We are a social enterprise based in the UK and part of the Ellen McArthur Foundation community.
We are an Associate Member of Break Free from Plastic, the global movement to end plastic pollution.
We are a member of the Prevent Waste Alliance, which connects stakeholders along value chains.
Our Team
Cameron Smith | Business Development
Cameron has designed and run Software, “bricks and mortar” operations, and a mixture of the two, for the last twenty years. He is based in Sub-Saharan Africa where the idea for Unwaste.io was born.
Martin Pllu | Technology
Martin is a full-stack software architect with over 20 years experience. An early adopter of cloud tech, he has used this to build our crowdsourced data collection platform, Wastebase, with highly scalable, cloud-native architecture.
Danilo Sousa | Engineering
Danilo is an experienced full-stack software development engineer with experience in solving business problems using tech in Telecomms, Foods & Beverages and Financial Services sectors across Southern & Eastern Africa.
Danilson Macita | QA and user support
Danilson is an Electronic Engineering graduate who has worked on the development and support of several innovative digital platforms in Mozambique.
Laura Smith | User experience
Laura has worked across the social sector in the UK for two decades, focusing on business transformation and user-centred research and service design for social enterprise, charities and public agencies.
Ilaria Cannava | Data
Ilaria is an Electronic Engineer with a career in customer service and administration. Driven by her passion for technology, social impact and continuous learning, she is now transitioning into the field of data.
Arcel Zandamela | Logistics
Arcel is a professional mechanic with many years of experience driving, maintaining and supervising freight vehicles.
Dominick French | Community
Dominick is an award-winning documentary film maker who loves to make films that tackle climate change and our impact on the environment.
Beth Pilgrim | Funding
Beth is the co-founder of Supply Change. With a passion for social enterprise and expertise in partnerships and sustainable supply chains, Beth leads on fundraising opportunities for Unwaste.
James Arnold | Social Media
James is the Founder of Infinity Social Agency. He brings his passion for social media to Unwaste.io, leading our digital marketing strategy and developing our online presence.
Our philosophy
We believe that emerging digital technologies can support better, cheaper and more efficient plastic waste management. Our approach is based on these fundamental principles:
We are all responsible for plastic waste
Solutions must be economically viable
We must reduce the volume of land-based plastic that enters our oceans
Solutions must be based on accurate, specific and structured data
Solutions must be based on Extended Producer Responsibility. Producers should charge and Consumers should absorb the full cost of single-use plastic they make, buy or use. This includes the costs of managing waste in a way that minimizes harm to the environment.
Solutions will only be adopted within a market economy where there is clear value for all actors in the production, collection and recycling chain of plastic products. This must include those in marginal and informal sectors. In particular, solutions should offer:
price transparency, transaction security and demand stability to waste pickers and recyclers
improved quality and stability of supply to purchasers of recycled and repurposed plastic
visibility about the post-consumer waste journey to beverage brands, bottlers and distributors
Solutions must work within a waste treatment hierarchy that deals with waste as close to the point of production as possible, in line with the proximity principle, and is appropriate for each specific country. Once plastic enters the oceans, it is extremely costly to recover.
This should be available to all stakeholders, including:
Individuals in the global north: Data about the plastic produced in other countries by firms based in their own country, or where they directly or indirectly own shares
Consumers in the global south: Data about the volumes and origin of single-use plastic discarded in their country and in their local area
Regulators and policy makers: Data about the full economic and environmental impact of the single-use plastic produced or imported into their country
Unwaste.io Ltd is a company registered in Scotland, United Kingdom. Company Number SC692977
You can see our company information on opencorporates.
Contact us at: community @ unwaste.io