Aussie start up Zero Co is urging businesses to help eradicate single-use plastic (SUP) from workplaces across the country as part of Plastic Free July. Their Work Waste Challenge initiative, launched in July last year rewards businesses who turn their back on single-use plastics with discounts on environmentally-friendly office products and incentives to encourage those businesses’ employees to embrace sustainability in their homes as well as the workplace.
Zero Co is aiming to get 1000 businesses of all sizes to join their emission of getting rid of single-use plastics by the end this month, joining companies such as ANZ, Trek Bikes, Heaps Normal, Australia Post, Gumtree and Koala who have already pledged their commitment to the cause. If they reach that target of 1000, Zero Co will remove an additional 500,000 plastic bottles worth of rubbish from the oceans by the end of 2022.
The start-up estimates that almost 2.5 million Aussie businesses are currently using single-use plastic cleaning products such as handwash and dishwashing liquid in their workplaces, and that 85 per cent of those products end up in landfill, despite office recycling systems.
Zero Co’s refillable, zero-waste body care and cleaning products enable businesses looking to transition to a more sustainable future to save money on cleaning products, incentivise their employees join their mission and help fund ocean clean-up efforts.
“Once businesses make a pledge, they’ll be placed on the Work Waste Challenge leaderboard which tracks how many SUP bottles they’re diverting from landfill and how many of their staff sign up to join our plastic-busting mission throughout the month,” Zero Co’s founder, Mike Smith, said.
“If we can get workplaces involved in tackling the plastic problem, it sets a great example for employees to take similar action in their homes, too,” Smith added.
Gumtree was among the first businesses to join the Work Waste Challenge and their spokesperson, Eleni Gavalas, said that the company is excited to be a part of the scheme.
“For over 14 years, we have helped Aussies trade on Gumtree and embrace sustainable living by giving many items the chance of a new life,” Gavalas said. “Our pledge to support Zero Co marks a step further in our ongoing commitment to encourage Australians to share more and waste less.”
