The Story So Far

It’s an enthralling tale including romance , adventure and an unrelenting passion to do good for the planet.

From little things big things grow...

Zero Co began as an idea, dreamed up by an unemployed bloke in need of a shave, a shower and a good hard look in the mirror. That blokes name is Mike Smith (yep that's his actual name). This is the story of how Mike (along with Alyssa, Kate and Alana) brought Zero Co into the world...

Timeline image from Oct 2018

Oct 2018

Zero Co founder Mike Smith comes up with an idea to tackle the global plastic problem while trekking and camping his way through some of the most far-flung corners of the planet with his partner, Alyssa.

Timeline image from Apr 2019

Apr 2019

Mike and Alyssa move back in with Mike's parents, hire Kate (the marketing lady) and set up Zero Co HQ in Mike's sister's childhood bedroom. Mike puts his life's savings on the line to get Zero Co started.

Timeline image from Oct 2019

Oct 2019

Zero Co launches a Kickstarter campaign with the goal of raising $251,313 to help fund its first production run. Mike turns the campaign live from his childhood bedroom turned office.

Timeline image from Nov 2019

Nov 2019

Zero Co's Kickstarter kicks ass...becoming the most funded Aussie Kickstarter project of 2019, raising $742,427 from almost 7,000 Aussie households.

Timeline image from Dec 2019

Dec 2019

Mike, Alyssa and Kate head to Indonesia to take part in Zero Co's 1st ocean clean-up. 6,000kgs of plastic is pulled from the Java Sea off the coast of Jakarta to be made into Zero Co dispensers.

Timeline image from Mar 2020

Mar 2020

COVID19 strikes, the world goes into lockdown and Zero Co's official delivery window is pushed back to September 2020. Mike gets cabin fever from #ISOLIFE and starts making friends with cleaning equipment.

Timeline image from May 2020

May 2020

Zero Co officially launches its website and starts taking orders (for Oct delivery).

Timeline image from Nov 2020

Nov 2020

Zero Co officially starts shipping and becomes a real grown-up company: slightly wiser and sporting a few more grey hairs after sending out a whopping 11,500 pre-order boxes. They officially launch The Great Australian Plastic Purge to stop 1 million single-use plastic bottles from ending up in landfill over the next 12 months. They need another 8,500 orders to get there... C'mon Australia!!

Timeline image from Dec 2020

Dec 2020

Ever wondered what it’d be like to snorkel, kayak, or paddle-boat with a lifetime’s supply of single-use plastic bottles strapped to your waist? That’s weird, us too! Mike embarks on a plastic-busting road trip from Cairns to Canberra, with 3,109 plastic bottles in tow in a giant fishing net to show the crazy amount of plastic Aussies who join Zero Co could stop in their tracks. He meets with celebrities and politicians along the way, even an ex-PM!

Timeline image from Mar 2021

Mar 2021

Zero Co launch their most epic idea yet...Oceans 21! 21 million tonnes of plastic flows into our oceans every year. That’s one truck of garbage every single minute. Single-use plastic is the main culprit. So the aim for this year (2021) is to pull 21 tonnes of ocean bound plastic from Aussie oceans so we can turn it into our forever bottles! Let's go untrash the ocean!

Meet the Zero Co Crew

We're a dedicated team with a shared passion of untrashing the planet! And a good red wine...

Mike Smith - Founder & Used Pouch Salesman
Mike Smith - Founder & Used Pouch Salesman
Alyssa Carter - Product Development Lady
Alyssa Carter - Product Development Lady
Kate Stapleton - The Marketing Maven
Kate Stapleton - The Marketing Maven
Jack Aubort - Special Projects Commander
Jack Aubort - Special Projects Commander
Laura Cooper - Customer Happiness Queen
Laura Cooper - Customer Happiness Queen
Josefina Bonetto - Customer Happiness Hero
Josefina Bonetto - Customer Happiness Hero
Asher Todd - Marketing Coordinator
Asher Todd - Marketing Coordinator
Annalyse McLeod - Communications & Branding Oracle
Annalyse McLeod - Communications & Branding Oracle
Raquel Banks - Visionary Content Creator
Raquel Banks - Visionary Content Creator
Jemma Walters - Customer Happiness Hero
Jemma Walters - Customer Happiness Hero

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