No butts - Smartstreets to present product idea at final

Chiswick firm Smartstreets is one of ten finalists in with a chance to win business support worth up to £5,000 by presenting their big export idea to a live audience of business leaders on Thursday, 8 March at One Marylebone.

The company has created a range of environmental products including cigarette and gum litter bins.

They'll be up against a range of ideas from London firms including paving slabs which generate electricity to a collapsible pocket water bottle to win the UK Trade & Investment Export for Growth Prize, supported by PwC and HSBC.

The finalists have attended a business bootcamp session where they received advice on how to pitch their product, ready for the Exporting for Growth Prize Final.

Smartstreets are already transforming litter levels in urban areas across Europe. The in-house designed list of innovations is growing fast and includes other new approaches for tackling urban issues like dog fouling and random bicycle parking. Products include specially designed pocket ashtrays, gum board style solutions, street graphics and transformational bike parking, which converts sign posts into secure bike stands without adding clutter.

Andrew Farish, MD, said, "Cigarette butts and chewed gum are a blight on streets worldwide, accounting for 50 per cent of the world's litter. Keep Britain Tidy research shows that the lack of suitable bins in convenient location is the main reason people drop gum and cigarette ends. People need convenient, consistently located facilities that are easy to find and close at hand when they need them

"We have export demand for these products and every city worldwide can benefit from installing Smartstreeets -Smartbins. Our products reduce the financial and environmental cost of gum and cigarette litter to cities, keep streets cleaner longer and make public spaces and communities more welcoming for everyone."

Over 50 firms entered the competition from across London.

March 12, 2012