My name is Linda Ball, I am a business owner of 8 successful businesses.

I am a serial entrepreneur, environmental advocate, and the founder and CEO of companies focused on turning plastic waste into high-value, sustainable products—particularly for the healthcare sector. My portfolio includes Upcycled Medical Limited, SupraCycling Global, Upcycled Plastics, Upcycling Warriors, A Different Ball Game Limited, and related ventures in property and sustainability, among others.

My journey into business began in the property and development sector in Essex, where I built experience in real estate, land opportunities, and related services over many years. I later channelled that entrepreneurial drive into solving a much larger problem: the plastic pollution crisis, especially the vast amounts of single-use plastic generated by the medical industry that end up in landfills and oceans.

I founded A Different Ball Game Limited around 2017 and launched Upcycled Medical more formally in the period leading into 2021. The turning point came when I entered Bupa’s Eco-Disruptive competition in 2021. I won overwhelmingly in the UK (around 80% of the vote) and placed second globally. That success accelerated partnerships with organisations such as the NHS, Bupa, and the SEAQUAL INITIATIVE. We collect post-consumer and marine plastics (partly from oceans, beaches, and landfills), process them into yarn and textiles, and manufacture durable, eco-friendly medical workwear—scrubs, tunics, theatre hats, and related products—often blended with organic cotton. Our processes deliver significant measured savings (around 37% CO₂, 40% energy, and 34% water per linear metre), and with our ALTERIN™ technology we are advancing multi-cycle recycling and faster biodegradation.

I have been active as a business owner and director for well over a decade (with formal company appointments dating back to the early-to-mid 2010s in property and related fields, and a focused sustainability chapter since the late 2010s). My motivation is straightforward and personal: I decided to make a tangible difference. Plastic does not need to pollute our oceans or landfills when it can be transformed into useful, high-quality products. Education around waste segregation, closed-loop systems with hospitals and businesses, and creating UK-based manufacturing that reduces shipping emissions and supports green jobs are central to the mission. The end goal is to empower people and organisations—locally, nationally, and internationally (including work extending toward India and beyond)—to treat waste as a resource rather than a problem.

Today I continue as a speaker, innovator, and hands-on leader, working with scientists, healthcare partners, and clean-up initiatives to scale circular solutions. The businesses exist to prove that commercial success and planetary responsibility can reinforce each other.