What is Zero Waste,
Where it came from and Why is it important?
Zero Waste simply and straightforwardly is the art of living without producing waste.
What? Yes, it is possible!
From recycling and reusing products instead of buying single-use items to refusing what isn’t needed and decomposing organic waste it is more than possible to live a happy and comfortable life by avoiding landfills and not contributing to climate change and global warming. A lifestyle that is built upon thrift shopping, buying second-hand, or recovering unwanted items to create new, upcycled products.
Have you ever imagined not having to deal with the amount of waste you produce in your house? From veggie scraps to shampoo bottles to food packaging. What if it was possible to live your life without using or handling any of that?
Millions of people around the world are already adopting this lifestyle, and discovering that it is just the power of habit. The more you do it the easier it gets. But the question is where it all started, and why should we adopt this crazy lifestyle?
When did the Zero Waste Movement start?
The Zero Waste Movement actually started way back, in the 80s. The term “Zero Waste” was first introduced, in California, by Daniel Knapp, who was unconfirmed with the consumer system and the path the capitalist society was taking.
However, before our society actually started manufacturing plastic items, everybody was Zero Waste. From indigenous tribes to traditional cosmopolitan families we were applying Zero Waste principles, whether giving back to earth the resources we used in the form of organic matter or making use of reverse logistics when returning or reusing an item multiple times, which we will talk about in a moment…
The Zero Waste Movement therefore had to emerge after our society was already buried in single-used and disposable items that were introduced to us out of convenience. The movement was born out of a need to preserve the earth’s natural resources and refrain from contributing to the great amount of trash we were generating, again, out of convenience.
The term “Zero Waste” is frequently associated with Daniel Knapp’s Total Recycling idea. The goal was zero landfilling, zero burning, and maximum materials recovery, by applying 5 simple principles: refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, and rot.
Daniel Knapp was able to spread his Total Recycling concept to Canberra, Australia, in 1995 after his ideas were gaining popularity in its home community and across the United States. Australian Capital Territory implemented a waste management strategy called No Waste by 2010, in 1996 which became the first program of its kind in the world. I, myself started to learn about Zero Waste when I lived in New Zealand. I found that the people who live in those countries have a different mindset. Those sustainable habits are so rooted in their lifestyle that they already apply Zero Waste principles in their day-to-day life without even knowing about Zero Waste, or that they are carrying sustainable practices.
Daniel Knapp’s idea had the following goals:
To encourage producers to take responsibility for the way their products are made, used, sold, and disposed, of in order to prevent waste from being generated during any stage of consumption
To create an environment where innovative waste-reduction solutions can be developed.
For citizens to only buy the items they need. From building materials to groceries, efficient buying and production reduce waste.
To develop cost-effective solutions to recover resources so they can be reprocessed or reused
To set up industries to handle unwanted materials.
The Zero Waste International Alliance
In 2002, Richard Anthony, during a conference manifested the intention of setting up a workshop dedicated to Zero Waste. He, then put together a team of the following experts:
Dr. Bill Sheehan, Director of the Grassroots Recycling Network (GRRN)
Dr. Jeff Morris, an expert on cradle-to-cradle and cost-benefit analysis
Dr. Dan Knapp, President of Urban Ore a for-profit Reuse Resale enterprise
Dr. Paul Connett, Chemistry Professor and noted international advocate for Zero Waste and sustainability
Bill Worrell, Manager of the San Luis Obispo Solid Waste Authority
Joan Edwards former head of New York City and Los Angeles City Recycling programs
Richard Anthony, Grassroots Recycling Network (GRRN) Board member and Zero Waste advocate
The first conference was a success. Shortly after, the Zero Waste coalition of the UK was formed with the help of Professor Robin Murray, giving birth to the Zero Waste International Alliance.
The Zero Waste Lifestyle
In the subsequent years, the conversation persisted in promoting a constructive stance towards mitigating pollution. Throughout the past twenty years, the coalition has spearheaded the emergence of research, projects, and policies aimed at achieving zero waste on a global scale.
As time passed, the Zero Waste idea transitioned from the domain of professionals, policymakers, and environmental advocates to the burgeoning online blogging community around 2008.
Bea Johnson is often recognized as the pioneer of the zero-waste lifestyle movement, originating from her blog Zero Waste Home, where she chronicled her family of four’s sustainable lifestyle.
Lauren Singer was another to stand out with her YouTube channel and website Trash is for Tossers giving tips and showing how to live plastic-free, but also became well-known for opening one of the first zero waste shops in New York.
A few Brazilian ones that I would also like to name are Livia Humaire, one of the first to open a zero waste shop in Brazil, who today ministers courses for sustainable entrepreneurs, Cristal Muniz, who started her A Life Without Waste project in 2014, and also published a through manual on how to, and Fe Cortez, environmental speaker, and creator of the brand Menos1lixo, aimed to arm people with tools and knowledge on living a plastic-free life.
The 5 Principles of Zero Waste
The Zero Waste movement is built upon the following 5 principles: refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, and rot. Especially in that order.
Principle 1: Refuse
At this stage, the aim is to minimize waste wherever feasible. Particularly focusing on disposable items such as bags, straws, utensils, and cups, as well as unwanted mail, giveaways, and other items destined for the trash. You will find out that it is actually any of these is needed at all. Refusing waste can be as challenging as declining unwanted interactions or situations, however, after practice, it becomes almost an instinct. Developing the ability to decline is a skill that can significantly impact our lifestyle, enhance our capacity to set personal boundaries, and transcend habitual behaviors to embrace a lifestyle with reduced waste.
Principle 2: Reduce
Minimize waste, often involves parting with unnecessary items through donation or sale, which helps declutter and create space. When we cut down on possessions, we are more inclined to shop with purpose, focusing on essentials rather than impulsive purchases. Frequently, we dispose of such items in the trash or hoard them in closets, cluttering our homes and lives. By scrutinizing our consumption patterns, we can assess whether they truly align with our best interests or contribute to the health and sustainability of the Earth, and make positive changes accordingly.
Principle 3: Reuse
Many everyday items are designed for single use and disposal. When we encounter something that appears dirty, worn, or damaged, our instinct is often to discard it and replace it immediately. Reusing an item, even once, reduces the waste generated by manufacturing, transportation, and packaging of a new product. By reusing items, we prolong their usefulness before resorting to recycling, composting, or disposal. We also could even include an additional R here, that is very important: Repair. Instead of throwing something away because it is broken or torn and replacing it with a new one, oftentimes it is cheaper, and more sustainable to keep what you have instead of creating demand for new products that will need raw resources to be made.
Principle 4: Recycle
The principle of recycling encourages us to understand the role of recycling within the waste hierarchy. Society tends to prioritize recycling as the primary method for waste reduction, although it ranks lower in sustainable options. This principle emphasizes the importance of proper recycling practices while also advocating for innovation in waste management processes. However, current recycling systems are often inadequate, resulting in the degradation of recyclable materials into waste that ends up in landfills. Recycling facilities struggle to keep pace with the staggering quantities of single-use products consumed and discarded at alarming rates, leading to recycling facilities resembling new landfills.
Also, most of the plastic ever produced was not recycled, is hardly recyclable, and will never be recycled, thus remaining in nature forever. Besides, most people don’t separate their organic, recyclable, and landfilled waste, making it impossible to recycle, and a lot of the time they don’t know the disposable items must be washed in order to be recycled, they cannot be if they are dirty. Therefore is way easier to avoid, and reuse items, instead of trusting “the myth of recycling”. We reached a point where recycling is not enough. It should be one of the last alternatives, as we put it here. We cannot sustain this production pace and think that recycling will solve the world.
Principle 5: Rot
The final principle, decomposition, underscores the importance of implementing composting practices. Food scraps and other organic materials can be composted to produce fertilizer for plants or gardens, thus restoring the natural cycle of the Earth. Composting plays a crucial role in mitigating the emission of greenhouse gases from landfills due to the decomposition of large quantities of food waste. Methane, a potent greenhouse gas emitted in landfill settings, is 86 times more effective than carbon dioxide in trapping heat. This could be one of the easiest ones to apply to your day-to-day life, just buy a compost bin, and watch your organic waste turn into rich soil.
Adopting Zero Waste practices has significant benefits, including economic improvement, enhanced health outcomes, and environmental protection, as the less trash we produce, the less will end up in the landfills, or worse, the ocean.
Zero Waste health benefits
Reducing air and water pollution not only diminishes the risk of respiratory diseases and cancer in humans but also enhances ecosystem health by mitigating acid rain and nutrient accumulation in water bodies. According to the Tellus Institute, increasing the recycling rate in the United States to 75% by 2030 could result in significant reductions:
– Respiratory emissions by 45%
– Carcinogenic emissions by 70%
– Eutrophication emissions by 60%
– Toxic emissions by 25%
– Acidification emissions by 80%
– Ecosystem toxic emissions by 90%
Zero Waste environmental benefits
Over time, conserving natural resources has become increasingly challenging. Failure to regulate resource consumption could lead to resource depletion, ultimately harming humanity. Adopting a Zero Waste approach or eliminating waste altogether would help conserve natural resources. Consequently, manufacturers would utilize fewer raw materials, leading to reduced output and production levels. Embracing Zero Waste practices would mitigate pollution stemming from resource extraction, manufacturing, and disposal, preserving the planet’s health for future generations.
Zero Waste economic benefits and workers’ rights
Zero Waste initiatives are estimated to generate approximately ten times more employment opportunities compared to landfills and incinerators. These employment opportunities span across technology and design sectors, the development of new infrastructure, as well as the refurbishment and retrofitting of existing materials, and an increase in recycling activities. In addition to job creation, Zero Waste practices divert materials from landfills, resulting in cost savings for communities. A ton of waste consigned to landfills typically comprises recyclable materials such as paper, plastic, and metal, which could otherwise support local businesses and communities financially.
The Future of Zero Waste
But how do we go from here?
We actually have reached a point of no return. From now on, we keep consuming like we do and certainly cannot rely on recycling. We as consumers have the power to demand that things be done a different way. Companies need to start taking responsibility for their products. Since their fabrication process all the way to the discart. Products need to be made differently. They need to be made to last, to be repaired, and to go back to nature following a circular economy. We need to shift the current degrading system we are immersed in and start to have a regenerative mode of thinking.
Until we get there, you can follow my tips here on how to learn and sustain a Zero Waste lifestyle. The most sustainable way of living. This is how you do your part to change the world. After all, you cannot do all the good the world needs but the world needs all the good you can do.