Epoch Biodesign

We believe in the power of innovation and storytelling to tackle the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. This week, we’re inspired by the incredible ‘Castoffs to Catwalk’ fashion show, which shines a spotlight on the vast clothing dump in Chile that’s visible from space. This unique event underscores the urgent need to address textile waste and highlights creative solutions that transform discarded materials into something beautiful and meaningful. We are on a mission to scale technology that will revolutionise plastic and textile waste, and stories like these remind us of the endless possibilities when sustainability and creativity join forces. Let’s work together to reduce waste, build circular supply chains, and create a more sustainable, resourceful future for all. Check out the full story in The Guardian here, and join us in celebrating the work of #AtacamaFashionWeek. #WastetoWonder #Sustainability #FashionRevolution #CircularEconomy #TextileWaste #EpochBiodesign

We’re delighted to welcome the newest member of the Epoch team, Emanuele Sicurella, who joined us recently as a Machine Learning Engineer! With extensive experience using AI to interpret and advance complex biological systems, we’re excited to have him on board to help design new enzymes to break down plastic waste. Welcome, Emanuele Sicurella!   #MachineLearning #Plastics #Biology #NewHire #Sustainability

We're thrilled to welcome the latest addition to our process team, Adam West, who has joined as a process development chemist, helping us design, optimise and scale our infinite recycling capabilities. Coming to us from the pharma industry, Adam is no stranger to solving tough challenges in chemistry. Plastic waste beware! Welcome, Adam! #NewHire #Circularity #Sustainability #Chemistry #Plastics

This week we welcomed the brilliant Chandula Walgama to the Epoch team as a production chemist. With deep expertise sitting at the intersection of materials circularity and chemistry, Chandula is the latest addition to our fantastic process team working to build the future of plastics recycling. Welcome, Chandula! #NewHire #Circularity #Sustainability #Chemistry #Plastics

🚨New Job Alert🚨 We're hiring a Machine Learning engineer to join us in designing never-before-seen enzymes to transform plastic waste. Apply today and help us build the future of plastics recycling! https://lnkd.in/ewfe_E4G #Jobs #Hiring #AI #MachineLearning #Plastics #Sustainability

We are thrilled to share that we've been selected as one of 10 innovators to join Fashion for Good's 2024 programme! Looking forward to the next 9 months and sharing more about what we've been working on soon. Stay tuned!

There are so many ways to turn waste into wonder, and this week we want to highlight the work of Iris Van Herpen who’s connecting waste, fashion and science in a jaw-dropping collection of garments that explore the fragility of marine ecosystems. At Epoch, we're also combining cutting-edge science with the world of waste, as we deliver circular solutions to industry, producing enzymatically recycled material for new products that otherwise would have gone to landfill. Find out more and get in touch at https://lnkd.in/guXm6DUX #WasteToWonder #Fashion #Circularity #Plastics #Enzymes #Biorecycling

Another International Women’s Day, another opportunity for LinkedIn to be flooded with pictures of female employees in any given company accompanied by various hashtags. Sometimes even eating cake!   Has IWD become performative? A box-ticking exercise? A ‘must post’ date in companies’ social media calendars?   At Epoch, we believe it has. We also believe that it shouldn’t have.   So today, instead of posting a picture of all the incredibly smart women at Epoch, we chose to post a picture that reminds us of what many exceptional women needed to do to get where they are today.   Achieving equal rights for women is still extremely relevant.   In the UK, we look at gender ratios on company boards, leadership position splits, flexible policies, and the pay gap. These are, of course, important issues to resolve, biases to break, and blocks to remove from the road.   Yet, this is 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 Women’s Day. Girls and women in many countries around the world are treated unfairly just because they were born female. Girls who cannot attend school, who cannot get an education, who cannot express an opinion, whose future is chosen for them. Women who cannot work outside of the home, who cannot earn an income. Who cannot be seen.   International Women’s Day is still extremely relevant, and it is not accurately represented by the annual office female picture. Not even if it includes cake!   Sustainable development and gender equality can only go together. Here's to a sustainable future, where women all around the world, are seen, heard, and treated equally.

This week, we want to introduce you to Rachel Heath, one of our amazingly talented scientists and our Head of Enzyme Assays. With an unwavering zeal for exploring what enzymes are capable of, she’s a force to be reckoned with when it comes to pushing biology to its limits. Captivated at an early age by the colour of flames from metals in a Bunsen burner, her love for chemistry was born. Inspired by her scientist grandfathers and uncle and an interest in the intersection of chemistry and biology, she pursued graduate studies in protein electrochemistry, where she explored innovative ways to test and develop enzymes. Little did she know that was laying the groundwork for her future at Epoch. “I was drawn to the novel enzyme engineering approaches at Epoch... the idea of engineering biology intrigues me deeply,” she says. Nowadays, Rachel finds herself developing novel enzyme variants, whilst orchestrating cutting-edge assays designed to measure the efficacy of these remarkable biological machines in breaking down diverse types of complex plastic waste. Day-to-day, she quite literally witnesses plastic vanish before her eyes, and realises for herself “the vast potential we have to transform the world we live in.” When she’s not conquering enzyme libraries you can catch her exploring London’s culinary landscape and theatre scene, sporting funky footwear from her coveted collection… that one day, at the end of their life, she hopes to be able to recycle using an Epoch enzyme she’s developed. #PeopleAndCulture #Plastics #TeamSpotlight #Climate #Employees

Concerned about the hidden plastics lurking in our clothes? From Polyester to Nylon, garments to microfibres, check out this insightful article from The Guardian shedding light on the issue and offering practical tips on how to reduce the impact your wardrobe has on the planet. At Epoch, we celebrate the vast potential of new biobased and biodegradable materials whilst also appreciating the performance and durability of synthetics, two critical requirements for a sustainable future of fashion. That's why we’re developing end-of-life solutions that unlock true circularity chains for all sorts of plastics, decoupling their manufacture from fossil fuel extraction and drastically lowering the energy requirements to recycle them. #TextileWaste #FashionIndustry #Sustainability #CircularEconomy #WasteReduction