Gillian Hyde

Background

About Gillian Hyde

In a long career - or more precisely, string of careers (I have been a business manager, a broadcaster, a writer/educator, and an actor)- I am now founder of a plastic circular economy start-up. If the latter seems incongruous, it shouldn’t. Life is rich and varied, and I like to say yes to things. Especially if I think I can make a difference. In the face of the egregious horror of plastic waste, most people feel repulsed and remorseful, but ultimately - powerless. How on earth do you address such a monumental environmental issue? The answer is: by viewing it not simply as an environmental issue, but also an economic one. Imagine if every piece of plastic ‘waste’ had a transactable value. How long would it actually stay out in the environment – if it even made it that far? While you’re at it, imagine a world where low-income families are sustained by the very process that prevents millions of tons of plastic waste from entering waterways every year. Corporate demand for PCR plastic is high (and rising) with a USD$5.1 BILLION annual shortfall in Asia. But brands are frustrated by a convoluted and shadowy supply chain that involves networks of middlemen, and harbours the insidious taint of child labour. But what if you could find a way to connect corporate need for recovered plastic directly with the people who collect it – bypassing those middlemen, improving efficiencies, and eliminating costs? And what if those cost savings were passed directly on to the informal workers who collect the plastic…? Now imagine that there was some clever tech that could do all that AND shine a light on the entire process – ensuring that brands get the right material for their needs, and that people are treated well and paid fairly - and no children are exploited along the way. We imagined it. And we built PlastX – a demand-driven physical & digital supply chain for PCR (post-consumer recovered) plastic in Asia. Trialled in India and Malaysia, PlastX is now ready to unleash its tranformative power on the world. Anyway, that’s what we’re doing. How ‘bout you? Saving the world from plastic is everybody’s job.