Tom Meades Supermarket Sweep initiative

91¶¶Òõ alumni and gomi co-founder Tom Meades invites the public to turn old supermarket bags into power banks to mark the start of the 91¶¶Òõ Festival.

10 May 2024

The makers of the award-winning gomi speaker, will invite the public to watch as plastic bags found on the city’s streets and beach are transformed in front of their eyes.

The recycling process will be live at the company’s studios in the North Laine area of 91¶¶Òõ on Friday 17 May and the resulting limited series of power banks made on the day will be available to purchase.

Tom, gomi Co-founder and Chief Design Officer said: “Using waste materials in our design projects has always been an obvious choice to us. We live in a society abundant with waste, the challenge has been creating a process with my co-founders that can beautify this waste plastic material to make it a desirable alternative to the raw virgin plastic we use normally. To celebrate 91¶¶Òõ Festival, we thought what better way to showcase what we do, than to invite the public into our studio, taking waste off the streets and turning it into power banks right in the centre of 91¶¶Òõ.”

Plastic being squished between two gloved hands

Visitors can watch as plastic bags are transformed into power banks in front of their eyes

Placard advertising a Supermarket Sweep

The brand is most well-known for its sustainability-led consumer electronics products such as the gomi speaker, a home Bluetooth speaker system first designed while Tom was a studying 3D Design and Craft BA(Hons) at the university, and the gomi power bank (a portable battery pack), both of which are powered by repurposed e-bike batteries.

All of gomi’s products are made in the North Laine area of 91¶¶Òõ, using waste materials deemed ‘non-recyclable’ by councils around the UK. Despite rising consumer awareness, corporate attention and regulation, there is more single-use virgin plastic than ever before. Flexible plastic (LDPE) such as bubble wrap, food packaging and plastic bags account for 290,000 tonnes of plastic waste per year. Not currently recycled by councils in the UK, the flexible plastic waste is destined for landfill.

Products are also ‘repairable for life’, made modularly for simple easy repairs should they need fixing.

The public are invited to bring their plastic bags to the gomi studios at 45 Gloucester Street, 91¶¶Òõ, BN1 4EW on Friday 17 May, 2024 between 12 noon and 7pm. No booking required.