After working at a festival and witnessing more than 4,000 tents being collected for a landfill, Amanda Campbell realised she wanted to find a solution to help « save the planet ». The 23-year-old promptly launched her company Comp-A-Tent, designing what she claims is the first ever compostable tent, which she hopes will be used at music festivals – where one in five tents end up in landfills.
« It will save festival organisers in clear up costs, save the planet hundreds of tonnes of annual landfill waste and also cut carbon emissions as the tent is made from plant-based materials as opposed to non-renewable resources, » Campbell explains. « The tent will decompose in 120 days but is as comfortable, strong, waterproof and lightweight as tents used currently at festivals. The material also has much wider applications. »
The UCL graduate, who gained a BSc in architectural studies, told The Huffington Post UK it was « great » being able to combine business with her passion.
« I’ve been described as an eco-warrior and I’m happiest when I’m dancing, probably barefoot, in a festival field, rain or shine, » she says. « I usually work at festivals, such as sorting the waste after Glastonbury, to be able to afford to go to as many as I can. »
Although Campbell admits she never set out to be an entrepreneur, she says she is « always coming with ideas and inventions ».
« I suppose the catalyst for my business started in summer 2013 when I went on a programme called Balloon Kenya, » she recalls. « I was partnered with several start-ups and worked with their businesses for 6 weeks in Kenya. I left Kenya very confident that I could run my own business and knew I should start by just testing out ideas. That summer I stayed behind working at a festival and witnessed 4,000 tents being collected for landfill.
SOOURCE : Huffington Post UK
