About ZeroPlastic
Sri Lanka's largest youth-led environmental movement
We work to reduce single-use plastic through behaviour change, youth mobilisation, advocacy, sustainable alternatives and institutional partnerships.
The movement in numbers
- 12,000+
- Change makers
- 5 million+
- People educated
- 300,000+
- Volunteers mobilised
- 1,000+
- Environmental actions
Our story
It started on university campuses
Before the movement had a name, students at Sri Lankan state universities were already organising clean-ups, awareness sessions and campus campaigns, tired of watching plastic accumulate on their coastlines and in their waterways.
ZeroPlastic Movement was established in 2021, formalising work that had already started on those campuses and giving it a structure that could reach beyond them.
That campus base is still what makes the movement work. Clubs took root in universities, then in schools and communities, and the network grew into a national one. Today the same structure carries campaigns from Colombo to Jaffna without needing a head office in every district.
Zero Plastic's mission is to create a behavioural change among Sri Lankan citizens to reduce plastic waste while building a demand for plastic substitutes produced by local entrepreneurs.
How we work
No single organisation solves plastic pollution
ZeroPlastic works across sectors because plastic pollution cannot be solved by one organisation alone. We collaborate with the Central Environmental Authority, our islandwide university network, private-sector organisations, development partners, international organisations, financial institutions, the travel industry and other institutions working to reduce plastic use across Sri Lanka.
Our approach combines behaviour change, youth mobilisation, practical plastic alternatives, institutional action and policy advocacy. By working through universities, schools, communities, businesses and national partners, we aim to create changes that continue beyond individual campaigns.
Our approach
Three goals hold the work together
Reduce plastic pollution
Awareness campaigns, clean-up drives and education that shift everyday habits away from single-use plastic.
Drive adoption of alternatives
Get people using sustainable plastic alternatives by making them visible, available and desirable.
Empower the entrepreneur network
Expand and support the local producers who make plastic substitutes, building real demand for what they create.
Our network
Where the movement reaches
Universities
An islandwide university network gives ZeroPlastic a permanent presence in Sri Lankan higher education, with student-led clubs running their own campaigns.
Schools and communities
School clubs introduce plastic reduction early, and community clubs take on the local problems that national campaigns cannot reach.
National and global roles
ZeroPlastic organises World Cleanup Day activities in Sri Lanka and is the authorised Sri Lanka organiser for the SPOGOMI World Cup.
Working across sectors
Helping businesses reduce single-use plastic
We work with businesses that want to reduce single-use plastic in their operations. Organisations can progress toward recognition through the ZeroPlastic Commitment Standard, which carries independent third-party verification by Control Union.
The standard gives companies something more useful than a pledge: a defined level to work towards, and an external check that the work was actually done.
Leadership
Who guides the movement
Advisory Board
Strategic direction and governance, drawing on senior experience in environmental policy, diplomacy, corporate sustainability, finance and technology.
Our Experts
Specialist consultants supporting the movement with technical and subject expertise across public affairs, communications and sustainable finance.
Work with ZeroPlastic
We collaborate with companies, institutions, universities and community organisations that want to cut single-use plastic. Tell us what you are trying to do.