In a ceremony held during Spark Festival 2022, 15-year-old Ned Heaton, who founded The Turtle Tribe, has been announced as Australia’s Teen Entrepreneur of the Year for 2022.
Heaton was awarded for his contribution to the goal of eliminating the plastic pollution impacting the world’s oceans through his enterprise The Turtle Tribe, which he founded four years ago at 11 years of age.
In addition, Heaton also received the Most Impactful Teen Business Award.
Heaton witnessed the problem of ocean plastics first-hand during his annual family camping trips on Mulgumpin (Moreton Island), an experience that prompted him to establish The Turtle Tribe, a business that has become one of Australia’s largest suppliers of bamboo toothbrushes.
“I’m honoured to receive this award,”, Heaton said. “And [I] hope it shines a light on the issue of ocean plastics, and the urgent need for us all to reduce our plastic waste.”
“Scientists predict that by 2050 there’ll be more plastic in the ocean than fish, and we can’t let that happen,” Heaton added. “We have to change. We have to use less plastic. Plastic toothbrushes last for several hundred years in the marine environment, and every one you’ve ever used is still in the world somewhere. The crazy thing is, there’s no need to make them out of plastic. Bamboo toothbrushes work just the same but biodegrade when you’ve finished with them.”
Heaton has credited his success to his many supporters, including Ocean Crusaders, Sea Shepherd, University of Queensland, Brisbane Sustainability Agency, Dolphin Research Australia, Regis Aged Care, and Youth in Business.
The Teens in Business Awards is a joint initiative between Young Change Agents and BOP Industries and looks to celebrate and amplify the creativity, passion, and interests of young people as they try to create positive change in their communities. The awards also serves to give them a platform to expand their impact.
Hundreds of entries from around the country were received for this year’s awards and finalists were invited to pitch their business ideas in front of their peers and a panel of judges during the online event, as part of Spark Festival 2022, a not-for-profit, grassroots festival for start-ups and innovators looking to create a better future.
The judges were “blown away” with the calibre of entries this year, but took particular note to Heaton’s “impressive business model, providing a tangible solution to a major world problem”.
