Positive impact comes in many forms, and SlurryTub is giving tradies a simple way to clean-up their concrete waste at the end of the day, without polluting gardens and drains.
The Australian company has developed a plastic tub and semi-permeable liner that’s custom designed to hold a wheel-barrow as concrete waste is washed away. The biodegradable cellulose paper filter separates the harmful sediment from waste water.
SlurryTub collects the toxic and highly alkaline sediments (often around 12-13pH, similar to household bleach) which can be later disposed-of with the dry construction waste, while the water can be drained or recycled on the job. The biodegradable filters remove over 99% of total suspended solids and significantly reduces the amount of water required.
Cleaning concrete waste from mixers and wheelbarrows is a job facing thousands of concreters everyday, and SlurryTub makes the process faster and easier. And it helps to reduce the likelihood of breaching environmental regulations.’
Investment has come from Beckon Capital, through their Enterprise Fund No.1. They developed a roadmap for the company to achieve profitability within 18 months (this is a requirement of the fund) as well as filing patents and ensuring intellectual property was protected. They were also given significant mentoring and governance advice to strengthen their investment case, including pricing strategies, and logistics and supply chain options.
As Phil Moffitt from Beckon explains, they look for founders who are ready and willing to collaborate. “The most important factor is that they express a desire to work with us, and not just take our capital. To actually partner in executing the growth strategy, to value our input. But also, we don’t require that they’re what we call ‘impact natives’, we certainly want them to recognise that their business has externalities, but if they haven’t recognised the totality of the impact they’re having, we’re happy to help them drive that side of the business further.”
Phil says that they don’t accept the concept of trading-off growth for impact, in his mind, they work in unison. “Understanding, measuring and utilising your impact can actually make your business more sustainable and profitable.”
The SlurryTub team also received an Innovation Grant for Environmental Performance, from the City of Sydney, in the test and trial stage.
The tub and liner was designed by People&Things™.