Martin Montague (born 1977) in Portsmouth, UK is an entrepreneur and author.[1][2]
Martin Montague | |
|---|---|
| Born | 4 May 1967 Portsmouth, UK |
| Citizenship | British |
| Occupation | Author |
| Website | martinmontague |
Early life and education
editMartin Montague grew up on several council estates near Portsmouth including Leigh Park, and later Purbrook where he attended Oaklands Roman Catholic School in Waterlooville.[3]
Career
editMontague started his career as a trainee car salesman in Portsmouth before getting a job as an estate agent.[4][dead link] He took evening classes to help with his dyslexia before getting a job with Prudential PFPS as an executive consultant. By the time the company had made its entire direct sales force redundant, he was in the top three sales consultants in the country out of 6,000 staff.[5]
In 1999 he was looking to start a virtual and scalable online business and came up with the idea to sell ringtones on the Internet.[6] After the lifecycle for this product finished he started a new software company Symbios Solutions Ltd, which develops revenue optimisation and machine learning technology,[jargon] servicing more than 3.5m users worldwide.[7][8][9]
Other companies he founded included a surfwear company that he sold in 2016. He also purchased a distressed bike light manufacturer and invented and patented an accelerometer powered brake light that was subsequently sold in Halfords before the company was later sold.[10][11]
ClearWaste application
editMontague came up with the idea for ClearWaste to address fly-tipping.[12][13] He spent over £250,000 developing the App to help combat the problem.[14][15][16][17][18]
The ClearWaste app and website is linked to every local authority in the UK and gives councils the location with details and photographs of the rubbish to combat fly-tipping.[16] Users can report instantly to the local council by taking a picture and filling in a few details with the app.[19]
The app links consumers who have unwanted DIY materials also, allows users to get rid of junk by finding licensed waste companies.[20]
Montague reported a rat-infested pile of filth in Mill Hill after receiving reports from the app that resulted in the mess being cleaned up by local authorities at a cost of £150,000. The rubbish estimated was about 300 lorry loads or around three football pitches.[21]
It was reported that due to dump closures and an increase in DIY projects during the coronavirus lockdown figures from ClearWaste showed that overall fly-tipping is increased by 76-80 per cent.[22][23]
References
edit- ^ "A businessman who got bored of waiting for the government to reduce fly-tipping has created a new app to combat the problem". East London and West Essex Guardian Series.
- ^ "Man spends £300k of own money in personal war against fly-tipping". Evening Standard. 24 August 2019.
- ^ "'I'm not ashamed of where I grew up'". The News (Portsmouth).
- ^ "Martin Montague Biography".
- ^ "TV stars back the app that's taking on fly-tipping". Southern Daily Echo.
- ^ "New website set to change the face of online dating | Greatreporter". The Great Reporters.
- ^ Schroeder, Stan. "3BILL Acquires UK Social Network Profile Heaven". Mashable. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
- ^ "Symbios sets the tone for the future". Southern Daily Echo.
- ^ "App launched to report flytipping across the UK". The Leader (Welsh newspaper).
- ^ "Lumicycle reveals InSight 'brake light' for bicycles". BikeBiz. 27 March 2014.
- ^ "Discarded condom packets and razor blades turning beauty spot into 'a dump'". Halifax Courier.
- ^ "Martin Montague & ClearWaste on BBC South Today". South Today.
- ^ Earnshaw, Tony (28 July 2019). "Condom packets, food and razor blades found on moorland beauty spot". Huddersfield Daily Examiner.
- ^ "News in brief: Activist runs across US | charities "bag" £9m | Fly-tipping app". Circular Online. 26 July 2019.
- ^ "Martin Montague & ClearWaste on BBC Radio Solent (3rd June 2019)". BBC Radio Solent.
- ^ a b "Businessman sets up an app to combat fly-tipping and is endorsed by celebrities". www.portsmouth.co.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
- ^ "Man spends £300k of own money in personal war against fly-tipping". Evening Standard. 24 August 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- ^ "Building firm cleans up its fly-tipped waste after drone footage goes viral". www.portsmouth.co.uk. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- ^ "Man creates fly-tipping app to combat waste crime crisis". East London and West Essex Guardian Series. 28 July 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- ^ "Man creates fly-tipping app to combat waste crime crisis". Times Series. 28 July 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
- ^ "Huge rat-infested pile of rubbish keeps growing in Mill Hill". ITV News. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
- ^ Browne, Ed. "Incidents of 'disgusting' fly-tipping on rise after coronavirus lockdown". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
- ^ Horton, Helena (14 April 2020). "Fly-tipping increases by 80 per cent in wake of coronavirus lockdown". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 3 May 2020.