Our Projects

The development of Forever-use bottles

Project description and overview:

Zero Co has developed a world-first, holistic solution to the global plastic problem. Their solution deals with the plastic problem at both ends of the supply chain – stopping the production of new plastic and cleaning up plastic waste that’s made its way into our oceans.

The project will commercialise Zero Co’s fully prototyped holistic solution to the global single-use plastic problem, by developing an end-to-end closed-loop supply chain that replaces single-use plastic bottles with forever-use pouches (made from waste materials).

Whilst most commercial waste/recycling projects currently in-market deal with the waste problem towards the middle/bottom of the EPAs waste hierarchy – ie recycle and/or treat waste, Zero Co’s world-first system deals with the waste problem at the absolute top of the EPAs waste hierarchy. This is a ground-breaking step change in thinking about waste, avoiding it in the first place rather than trying to recycle/treat waste after it’s been created.

In your first box of Zero Co you receive:

  • A set of “forever bottles” made from plastic waste pulled from the ocean
  • A set of refill pouches (made from plastic waste diverted from landfill) containing the liquids for your first set of “forever bottles”
  • A reply-paid envelope

You keep the forever bottles (forever) at your house and refill them (forever) from the refill pouches. You then send the refill pouches back to Zero Co in the reply-paid envelope to be cleaned, sanitised, refilled and re-used over and over again.

The engine-room for the Zero Co solution is:

  • Their world-first refill pouches made from recycled materials
  • Their world-first pouch cleaning/sanitisation equipment and processes.

Combined, these two innovations cut off the waste stream entirely, stopping waste being created in the first place. It is really simple. You order, Zero Co deliver, you return, Zero Co refill.

EXPECTED IMPACT

  • Increased spending on R&D
  • Increased collaboration with other manufacturers
  • Increased number of staff with science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) skills
  • Better qualified employees
  • Increased levels of automation
  • Higher marketing expenditure
  • Higher trade intensity

EXPECTED GROWTH

  • ZeroCo forecast $100M in revenue over 5 years

EXPECTED JOBS

This project is projected to upskill and create additional employment as follows:

  • Chief Operating Officer
  • Mechanical Engineer / Project Lead
  • Head of Operations
  • Production & Logistics Manager
Contributions:

Government Funds: $461,496 | Industry: $461,496 | In-Kind: $0

Project Collaborators