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Jack Herring (Social Innovation in Materials Design, 2020)Soluboard

Jack Herring

Trained in architecture and product design, Jack Herring is a London-based technology innovator whose work centres around electronic waste or ‘e-waste’ – the fastest growing waste stream in the world. Working with his company Jiva, Herring has invented Soluboard. The material is used to manufacture the world’s first fully recyclable Printed Circuit Boards.

Current Printed Circuit Board recycling is very inefficient, causing high amounts of precious metals to be lost in the shredding and incineration process. Manufactured using natural fibres, Soluboard is fully biodegradable and dissolves in hot water. This allows for a higher quality of precious metals to be recovered compared to conventional recycling processes.

Herring is currently leading a 30-month project funded by the Innovate UK SMART Grant scheme to commercialise Soluboard in the UK and Europe. In order to raise public awareness of the e-waste problem, Herring aims to liaise with MPs such as Mary Creagh, who has recently launched an enquiry into ‘disposable culture’ within the UK.