What’s the world’s largest plastic waste pyramid got to do with raising funds for rubbish cleanups?

This is a sponsored article from SustainabilityTracker.com member Zero Co.

Aussie zero-waste startup, Zero Co, has built the world’s largest plastic waste pyramid (10m high, 12m wide and weighing more than 18,000kgs) in the Egyptian desert, using 1Million water bottles worth of rubbish collected from the Nile River.

The plastic waste pyramid has been built in collaboration with VeryNile and Egyptian Artist Bahia Shehab. The structure is 10metres tall, 12metres wide, made from 18,000 kilograms of rubbish and took 5 days to build.

The audacious stunt aims to raise awareness about the single-use plastic problem and mark the beginning of a movement called the 100YR CLEANUP – an initiative that maps out a vision to fund large-scale rubbish cleanups for the next 100 years.

We have built the plastic waste pyramid with hopes to garner the world’s attention ahead of COP27 where on November 7, 2022 the world’s climate leaders will come together to discuss the planet’s future. Our founder Mike Smith will be camping out on the pyramid’s top for three days and inviting the public to support future cleanups by sponsoring bundles of rubbish (for $20, $50 or $100) from the 100YR CLEANUP website.

We are also calling on our industry peers and companies around the world to unite against the single-use plastic problem and support the 100YR CLEANUP by contributing a small part of their business funds towards the initiative.

We have contributed $100,000 of our own earnings into the 100YR CLEANUP kitty and we’re excited that other global brands are lining up to be part of the century-long movement. Founding partners include The Hidden Sea who sponsored $50,000 worth of rubbish, Belong contributing $30,000 and Skip Foundation contributing $50,000.

Our Founder, Mike, says, “We want to put the plastic problem on the environmental agenda. We know we can’t do this alone, so we need to get everyone involved. By working together with businesses, industry leaders and inviting the public to take direct action, we’ll be able to build a scalable solution to the problem and have a huge impact.”

With support from both the public and partner businesses, we hope to raise $1,000,000 for the 100YR CLEANUP over the next 12 months, which will remove 15Million water bottles worth of rubbish from the planet. This target will continue to drive the initiative’s mission year on year, for the next 100 years.

“I want to ensure that future generations have the opportunity to experience untouched wilderness in all its powerful forces. Whilst we inherit this planet from our ancestors, we also borrow it from our children” adds Mike.

By supporting the 100YR CLEANUP and sponsoring a bundle of rubbish, individuals and businesses can contribute to future cleanups around the world, including 2023 plans to host an underwater cleanup in Australia and untrashing ‘the roof of the world’ in the Himalayas. With sufficient funding, the team hopes to be able to pursue their ultimate vision of building full-time teams in South-East-Asia and Australia cleaning the planet five days a week, every week, every year, for the next 100 years.

Want to see what else we’re doing to help untrash the planet? Visit our sustainability profile.

This is an article from a SustainabilityTracker.com Member. The views and opinions we express here don’t necessarily reflect our organisation.