My name is Ally and I founded Ocean Plastic Pots.
I was a saturation diver working in the North Sea and a commercial diver in Scotland for 13 years. I dived all around the world from the Ivory Coast to Singapore and most of Europe. The deepest i've dived is 160 meters and i used to spend up to a month at a time under pressure.
It is estimated 8 million tons of plastic enters our oceans every year.
I experienced first hand the detrimental impact plastic waste is having on our marine life, and was really saddened by the volume of plastic I was finding in the sea and on our beaches. I knew I had to do something.
Ocean Plastic Pots is a business with a purpose.
The Whale
In December 2019 a 26 tonne Sperm Whale washed up on Luskentyre Beach on the Isle of Harris, in the Outer Hebrides. It had 100kg of rope, fishing net and plastic debris inside of it.
Three months later, during lockdown, i found myself working as a diver on the salvage of a cargo ship the MV Kaami. The ship was carrying 1937 tons of shredded waste plastic to be incinerated. (bottom pic)
It had hit a reef only 20km from the very same beach where the whale had washed up. This job was the catalyst behind Ocean Plastic Pots.
The Ship
Diving in this amount of waste and seeing the impact of plastic was having on our marine life inspired me.
I taught himself some basic, manufacturing techniques and started making plant pots from plastic that i picked off the beach, wich we sold at Leith Market.
I also started to work with discarded ropes and fishing net, shredding and moulding the nets by hand. All this was done in my shed in Glasgow.
The pots themselves although durable and built to last can be recycled again, creating a circular economy from waste.
Designed in Glasgow and made in Scotland, Our business goal is Growing Awareness of Plastic Pollution
Recycling in Scotland
We set up a collection program at Dunbar Harbour , south of Edinburgh, to recycle rope and fishing net.
We also complete a 'Big' beach cleaning project every year in Scotland.
- In 2021 We recycled all the rope and fishing net collected from Edinburgh to the Borders for World Ocean Clean Up Day.
- In 2022 we recycled over 1000kg of Rope and Net from the Island of Ulva, off Mull.
- In 2023 we Recycled rope and net from 6 Scottish Islands including Skye, Coll, Muck, Rum, Eigg, Coll and Canna in a pioneering first of its kind project.
- To date we have recycled 25 tonnes of rope and fishing net from Scotland. 4 tonnes came from Scottish beaches, all made into plant pots.
The V&A Dundee
In 2023 our products were featured in an exhibition at the V&A in Dundee, Scotlands Design Mueseum, in an exhibition entitled Plastic Remaking Our World.
We were also involved in talks in the plastic lab during the exhibition. I have no formal qualifications in product design or manufacturing.
Our Awards
- We won "Sustainable Garden Product of the Year Award" at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2021.
- We won Round 17 of Scottish Edge, a business competition for entrepreneurs backed by RBS Bank.
- We were awarded a Points of Light Award by the UK Prime Minister for sustainability and innovation.
- In 2024 we won best product at Scotlands Trade Show at the SECC in Glasgow.
Samsung
In 2023 we fetured in an advert for Samsung Mobile phones, which told the story of Ocean Plastic Pots and my lucky yellow wellies.
Ocean Kitchen Scotland
We were constantly asked to recycle broken fish boxes from our harbour collection programme. These boxes are food grade and made of HDPE but were not suitable for moulding into pots so in 2024 we came up with idea of moulding them in the handles for kitchen knives offering sustainability from pot to plate
