Zero waste (philosophy)
Zero waste is an environmental philosophy focused on reducing waste generation and minimizing the environmental impact of garbage. It encourages individuals and communities to prioritize reusing, repairing, and recycling items instead of discarding them. This approach goes beyond traditional recycling by advocating for sustainable manufacturing practices that utilize materials which can be easily regrown or replaced. Central to the zero-waste movement is the idea of adopting a circular economy, wherein products are designed for multiple uses and made to last, thus limiting the amount of waste produced.
Historically, resource reuse has been common in various cultures, especially during times of necessity. The modern zero-waste movement gained traction in the late 20th century, with significant developments like the U.S. Pollution Prevention Act and community recycling initiatives. As awareness of environmental challenges has increased, many individuals, businesses, and communities around the world have adopted zero-waste goals. Notable efforts include bans on disposable plastics and corporate pledges to eliminate waste in product packaging. By fostering these practices, the zero-waste philosophy aims to protect the environment while also creating economic opportunities in recycling and sustainable product development.
Zero waste (philosophy)
Zero waste is a concept in environmental science that addresses ways to minimize the impact of garbage and other waste on the environment. It goes beyond recycling to look for ways to repair or reuse items before discarding them. The zero-waste philosophy also involves using sustainable materials, or those that are from resources that can easily be regrown or replaced, and simply using fewer products in the first place.
Background
People have reused resources throughout history. For example, people have long worn clothing made from the skins of animals hunted for food, and during medieval times, some churches and other buildings were built by reusing the blocks from other older buildings. In other times, such as the Great Depression of the 1930s, necessity forced people to reuse and repurpose items. The sacks from animal feed were used to make clothing, for example, and when the clothing was worn out, the good pieces were cut to be used to make quilts.
Recycling initiatives gained momentum and organization in the 1960s and 1970s as people became increasingly concerned about humankind’s impact on the environment. For the first time, people began to recycle as a way of preventing large amounts of waste from going into landfills. Some countries started agencies, such as the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to develop and implement recycling and other programs to control the effects of pollution.
One of the earliest official actions in what became the zero-waste initiative was the US Pollution Prevention Act, signed into law by President George H. W. Bush in 1990. The initiative was aimed at controlling the causes of pollution. Around that same time, many communities began curbside recycling programs to collect items such as newspapers, cardboard, plastic bottles, and aluminum cans and redirecting them from landfills to companies that could create new items out of the old ones.
By the beginning of the twenty-first century, many towns in the United States, Australia, and throughout Europe and Asia were advancing initiatives to cut waste on a community-wide basis. Some people embraced this concept in their personal lives, looking for ways to create less waste and reuse and recycle items in their homes and businesses. One of these people was French-born blogger Bea Johnson. In 2008, while she and her family were living in California, Johnson began writing about their efforts to adopt a zero-waste lifestyle. Her blog became popular, leading to books and a large social media presence. Some people credit her with inspiring thousands of people around the world to adopt a zero-waste lifestyle and giving life to the movement. During the second decade of the twenty-first century, stores began to open that supported the zero-waste concept by selling products in reusable containers and making available more sustainable items, such as toothbrushes made of fast-growing renewable bamboo wood instead of plastic.
Overview
Zero waste is a systemic approach to dealing with garbage. Instead of developing methods to get rid of garbage, the zero-waste approach emphasizes limiting the amount of waste that is generated. The name refers to the idea of limiting waste so much that nothing, or nearly nothing, goes to landfills.
The zero-waste movement aims to promote recycling in every way possible and to reduce the amount of waste that is generated. One way to do that is to encourage people to reuse, repair, or recycle items they already have. Another is to encourage manufacturers to make items that can be reused, repaired, or recycled, or that do not use disposable materials. Air filters that can be cleaned and reused and vacuum cleaners that eliminate dust bags in favor of dust collection bins that can be emptied and reused are examples of this approach. The movement also endorses the idea of using sustainable materials in the manufacture of items. For instance, cork is a sustainable choice for flooring and other building materials because of the way it is grown and harvested.
Implementing a zero-waste system involves adopting a circular approach to products, packaging, and even food. Many communities and businesses that do this imitate the methods used by nature. Natural items are either reused or repurposed, such as the seeds in a fruit; durable, such as rocks; or easily recycled, such as the many types of plant matter that decompose and become fertilizer for other plants.
This circular approach can be replicated by creating items intended to have multiple uses, such as a candle in a glass jar that can be reused for storage; that are made to last, such as roofing materials meant to last multiple decades; or that can be recycled. Another aspect of this can be finding new ways to recycle items. For instance, a method has been developed to turn old denim jeans into an alternative form of home insulation, and many plastic bottles are recycled into durable alternative lumber that is maintenance free and can be used for products such as park benches.
Communities around the world have adopted different ways to advance the zero-waste movement. Some have instituted policies and manufacturing requirements that minimize waste when products are made or sold. For example, many communities around the world have banned or limited the use of disposable plastic bags in stores. Others encourage companies to find new ways to recycle products or to cut down on the materials they use in the first place. Disposable water bottles with thinner walls are an example of using less material to make a product.
The zero-waste movement has gained momentum over the first decades of the twenty-first century. It is seen as crucial to protecting Earth from the harmful effects of human-generated pollution. In the United States, each person creates an average of nearly four and a half pounds of garbage a day. Zero-waste initiatives aim to cut back on that, thereby saving resources, decreasing the burden on landfills and the environment, and reducing the amount of air and water pollution generated by the creation and disposal of these items. Zero-waste efforts also create new jobs for those who are involved in the process of recycling as well as designing, manufacturing, and distributing new products that support the initiative. While important overall, some noted that in societies such as the United States with long histories of constructed gender roles associated with activities such as cleaning, child care, and grocery shopping, women often seemed to take on a greater amount of the responsibilities related to carrying out such zero-waste efforts, particularly in terms of daily living. Others emphasized that a greater majority of products made to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly are marketed toward women.
By the beginning of the 2020s, several large, influential companies had made official pledges to shift away from business models based on disposable products and toward waste-limiting circular models. At the World Economic Forum in 2018, as part of the launch of the Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy, eleven major global companies, including Walmart, PepsiCo, Marks and Spencer, Unilever, and the Coca-Cola Company, announced that they were committing to making sure all of their products' packaging was recycled, reused, or composted by 2025. By 2023, Google had set goals of working toward zero waste. During that year, it had diverted 82 percent of its food waste from landfills and planned to increase its composting infrastructure. About 34 percent of the plastic the company used in 2023 was recycled. For new products manufactured during that year, 99 percent of the packaging was plastic-free. By 2024, many companies, such as Target, had embraced the concept of a circular economy and circular design principles through partnerships with organizations like the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a nonprofit that engages institutions across sectors in making systemic changes. At the same time, mayors of cities both large and small across the world had established official plans and deadlines for becoming zero-waste cities.
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