Peter Christmas - Easicycle

Domestic recycling business Easicycle was founded by 24-year-old Peter Christmas and his design partner Nicola Heaton after they graduated from Nottingham Trent University in 2008. So far, just the two founders operate the company but there are hopes to expand the team as the business becomes more established and has further financial backing.

The main Easicycle product is a recycled, recyclable flatpack container for the use of – you guessed it – recycling. Containers are made from 100 per cent recycled sheet polypropylene and are both manufactured and recycled in Britain. The idea is to make it easier for people to collect and transport waste to communal recycling facilities.

City-dwellers living in apartment blocks are the target customers. Christmas believes the product’s green stance is the primary strength of the business.

The products are designed to be user-friendly when transporting waste. They have handles, wheels and, even though they are lightweight, large capacity and durability. In the long-term, the team wants to develop a clear business plan and design more products, including furniture.

Ruth Higham - GlassECO

A quest to find environmentally friendly worktops for an eco-home in Dulwich, south London, led to a glass alternative to granite and marble surfaces, and so GLASSeco was born. Waste glass and recycled plastics, which would otherwise be sent to landfill sites, are used to produce sustainable materials suitable for worktop surfaces. GLASSeco was established in 2007 and began trading in April 2008.

Co-founder Ruth Higham, 45, brought the product to the market with the help of two other company directors, Donald Crawley, 45, and Bill Bradley 49. Higham says:

The business employs 14 people and is based in Warlingham, Surrey. So far it has been backed financially by friends but further investment is needed to allow the company to purchase new equipment and expand the sales team. The GLASSeco ambition is to have a factory in every major British city so worktops can be made and sold in local marketplaces.

James South - Econogo

Econogo is the new brand behind the Yogo, the first British electric scooter to feature a fully detachable and portable lithium battery. The scooter has been designed with urban commuters in mind. The process of recharging the e-motorbike battery has been simplified, with the length of time needed to do so reduced from a typical eight hours to just one. Batteries can be brought indoors for recharging, thus negating the need for a long extension lead to connect the bike from outside. There is also an added safety element to the innovation – if the battery is removed, the bike is harder to steal.

Econogo’s 28-year-old founder James South) started the company in July 2008 and recently signed a lease for a new shop in Kensington, west London. He says: ‘I stumbled across the idea while considering the problems faced with current electric vehicles in city environments. The Yogo can store a second detachable battery and you can transfer power from one to the other by flicking a switch, allowing the scooter to travel for longer. Econogo’s bikes are also exempt from congestion charges and tax.