McCormack Innovation's Soluble Wipes and Cotton Bud Stalks

Provision of soluble wet wipes and cotton buds to relieve the burden on sewage systems and coastal pollution

1. Baby wipes are causing hundreds of thousands of blockages in the UK sewer system and costing the country £100m every year, according to a new report.

 A study from Water UK, found that wipes made up about 93% of the material causing the sewer blockages.

 An investigation of 54 blockages discovered that baby wipes alone made up 75% of blockage material.

 The survey found other items like cosmetic wipes, sanitary towels and nappies were also a major cause of blockages.

Most wet wipes contain plastic fibers that are not biodegradable. When the wipes make their way into the ocean, they get ingested by sea creatures, such as turtles, who mistake them for jellyfish and eventually die.

 According to the findings of a 2016 study by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:

- Marine debris, especially plastics can cause the death of the animals that live in the mangroves and suppress the habitat.

-Mounds of rubbish in tidal channels can be detrimental to nearshore habitats and their associated species.

- Rubbish can inhibit tidal flushing and increase salinity levels, stressing the habitat.

-A direct local economic impact can be seen when word gets out that the mangroves are polluted and tourists stay away.

“The accumulation of marine debris can alter and degrade marine habitats through physical damage caused by abrasion, shearing, or smothering, and can change the physical and chemical composition of sediments,” says the study.

“Physical damage often impairs critical nurseries and refuges used by many different organisms that occupy these habitats and may reduce the quality of habitat for organisms whose daily activities (e.g., feeding, reproduction) require the use of specific environments.'

Any uptake of our soluble, non plastic, wet wipes, including baby wipes, and our dissolvable cotton bus stalks will deliver significant savings to the remediation costs of UK sewer systems and pollution to marine and  coastal regions and their communities, worldwide.  

2. According to the UK's Marine Conservation Society, plastic cotton buds, which are often flushed down the toilet and can pass through sewage treatment plants, are consistently listed in the top 10 items found during beach clean-ups and litter surveys.

Last year, pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson switched their swabs from unnecessary plastic to paper sticks. The move was important because the plastic is impossible to recycle, meaning the discarded sticks end up in our landfills or out to sea. However these paper sticks still take an unacceptably long time to bio-degrade.  

Negating any risk of blockages or lasting environmental pollution, our soluble, paper based cotton buds (or q tips) when in contact  with water, break up and are totally dispersed within 30 minutes.  

McCormack Innovation’s ‘Unique Selling Point’ is its patented technology. Our soluble wet wipes are a game changing alternative to existing materials. 

Our cotton bud stalks are a superior alternative even to J and J's paper based sticks. 

We currently have a registered trademark and have patent protection in the UK, US, Europe, Australia and South Africa. All IP has been assigned to the company.

With Smartsolve Industries of Ohio, who are an exclusive supplier of our feedstock and manufactures of our Stool Collector, we have an experienced and secure supply chain.

 With their assistance we have completed designs and successfully prototyped the conversion process of our stool collection and bed pan liners which are now ready for full production.  

As exclusive suppliers of our wet wipe material Smartsovle are in pole position to be our licensors for the further develop and manufacture of our wet wipes and cotton buds (q tips).     

Our goals over the next 12 months are;

- completion of the material science, testing of our solutions 

- to have single use wet wipes in production 

- to have a leading wet wipe manufacturer onboard for mass production of same

Our vision over the next three to five years is to have our soluble wet wipes in full production and so begin to see the improvements to our sewage systems and coastal regions/communities.

Essential to reaching and retaining our customers are:

- A high profile website, PR and marketing to raise awareness of our product’s and concepts. - Increase the number of recognitions and awards - Garner the attention of wet wipes and cotton bud manufacturers
- Find the right  distributors worldwide 

- B2B sales directly to pharmacies and private entities
- Commercialise other product
lines such as FlushAway™ Wound Dressing and FlushAway™ Cannula Dressing, which are already in development and have had substantial interest from the relevant interested parties.

None at present

Many thousands within the next 12 months. 

Many thousands more in the next 3 years. 

Our current team have had the required skills to take these products to market and concepts to a fairly large and appreciative audience. With our manufacturers, Smartsolve, we have the means, not only to produce but also the skills and support for product development and purchasing. 

With University of Dundee and Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh we have excellent R and D support. 

With our IP for Wound Dressings and other soluble products including, Wet Wipes, Cotton Buds and Sanitary products, there is a wealth of opportunities but for the next three year the main revenue streams are seen to come from our production ready, Stool Collectors and Bed Pan Liners.

For only our Stool Collectors in hospitals in the UK and our plans for online sales and availability in pharmacies our Business Growth Potential has been estimated as follows;

Business Growth Potential

Trading Business Actual Figures

Projected – Year 1

Projected – Year 2

Projected – Year 3

Date Range

01/04/2017 - 31/03/2018

01/04/2018 - 31/03/2019

01/04/2019 - 31/03/2020

01/04/2020 - 31/03/2021

Turnover

£0.00

£360,000.00

£1,000,000.00

£1,800,000.00

Net Profit

£0.00

-£28,325.00

£50,620.00

£202,535.00

Employees (FTE)

2.50

4.50

7.00

11.00

From a Solve employee we were honoured to be invited to apply. Already we have this event noted on our website. 

With their high profile status and of course any funding if successful, Solve can advance our work by raising the awareness of our solutions, for which the problems are often not appreciated or even apparent. 

The largest barrier to our solution is the fact that people do not appreciate that their is a problem let alone a solution.

Solve can help by raising awareness of the problems with promotion and support of the solutions.