What is Zero Waste

If it can’t be reduced,
reused, repaired,
rebuilt, refurbished,
resold, recycled or
composted, then it
should be restricted,
redesigned or
removed from
production.

© Eco-Cycle 2012
Zero Waste
 The State of the World

The current development model

is unsustainable, not only
environmentally,

but also from economic, employment and

social perspectives…

UN, 2012

© Eco-Cycle 2012
 Unsustainable Resource Use

Use 50% more resources

each year than the earth
can regenerate

Resource use up 800%

in 20th century

9 billion people by 2050

© Eco-Cycle 2012
 Consumption
cannot last

© Eco-Cycle 2012
 All major ecosystems in collapse

75% of marine fisheries are now overfished or 70% of the world’s coral reefs threatened or
fished to capacity destroyed

60% of ecosystems degraded or used $6.6 trillion in environmental damages every

unsustainably year

© Eco-Cycle 2012
 Poisoning our support system & us

 200+ chemicals found in

blood of newborn babies

 6x more plastic than

plankton in ocean samples

 80,000 chemicals on the

market, only few hundred
tested

 50 million tons e-waste

disposed every year
© Eco-Cycle 2012
 The wars of this
century will be over
access to raw
materials

© Eco-Cycle 2012
 Peak soil

Lose 75 billion tons of

soil every year, worth
$400 billion

1/3 of cropland
abandoned due to
erosion and degradation
over past 40 years

Need to feed 9 billion

people by 2050
© Eco-Cycle 2012
Climate change threatens to disrupt
10 all socio-economic systems…
What does all this have to do with trash??

© Eco-Cycle 2012
 Waste is agent for change

Local control Global impact

© Eco-Cycle 2012
 So how do we make it go away?

This ISN’T the problem

we’re trying to solve.

Because that’s just the

waste we can see.

But for every ONE can

of garbage you create at
the curb…
There are 87 cans worth of resources wasted upstream
 Why Zero Waste
15

This system doesn’t work for

SEVEN billion people and ONE planet
 Zero Waste
redesigns our system of resource use
for a more just & sustainable future.

© Eco-Cycle 2012
 What is Zero Waste
17

Resource Resource Resource

Recovery Longevity Efficiency
recycling reuse redesign
composting repair product
durable design stewardship
new rules
 International Definition

Zero Waste is a goal that is ethical, economical, efficient and visionary, to guide people in changing
their lifestyles and practices to emulate sustainable natural cycles, where all discarded materials
are designed to become resources for others to use.

Zero Waste means designing and managing products and processes to systematically avoid and
eliminate the volume and toxicity of waste and materials, conserve and recover all resources, and
not burn or bury them.

Implementing Zero Waste will eliminate all discharges to land, water or air that are a threat to
planetary, human, animal or plant health.

www.zwia.org

© Eco-Cycle 2012
 Origins of Zero Waste

1970s: recycling movement begins

late 1980s: curbside recycling

mid 1990s: prices rise, corporate takeover

late 1990s: recycling rates flatline

2000s: Zero Waste movement

2010s: climate change, resource scarcity

© Eco-Cycle 2012
 Zero Waste is NOT:

ZW does not
ZW is not
require
100%
getting to
recycling
zero

ZW is not
ZW is not
burning our
“Zero Waste
trash for
to landfill”
energy

© Eco-Cycle 2012
How do we get to Zero Waste?
21
 Six facilities to replace landfills

Recycling Composti
Facility ng Facility

Center for
Hard-to-Recycle
Materials

Construction &
Reuse & Repair
Demolition
Networks
Materials

© Eco-Cycle 2012
Whatever’
 Zero Waste
Infrastructure

© Eco-Cycle 2012
 Responsible policies

Access to recycling
Source separation
Product bans & taxes
Environmental
purchasing
Producer responsibility
Full-cost accounting

© Eco-Cycle 2012
 Clean manufacturing

 Reduce, Reuse, Recycle…

REDESIGN

 Resource efficiency
 lightweighting
 material substitutions
 durability
 reduced toxicity

 Producer responsibility:
Manufacturers take back
their products
© Eco-Cycle 2012
 Community programs

© Eco-Cycle 2012
 Empowered citizens

© Eco-Cycle 2012
 Envisioning success

Source separation worldwide:

 recycling, composting

90% recovery of resources

Product redesign to maximize

resource efficiency and reduce
toxicity

Regenerating local communities

& ecosystems
© Eco-Cycle 2012
 How are we going to get there?

© Eco-Cycle 2012
 10 year
“bridge strategy”
to Zero Waste
Infrastructure

Programs

Policies

© Eco-Cycle 2012
10-Year Bridge Strategy to Zero
Waste

Getting to 90%
• Whatever’s left
Getting to 50%Getting to 70%
• Access to services
• Building participation
 10-year community plan

Years 1-4: 50% Years 5-8: 70% Years 9-10+: 90%

Source-separated recycling for
Commit to Zero Waste path Aggressive Producer Responsibility
businesses and homes
Organics collection for businesses and
Facility planning and construction Landfill disposal bans
MFUs
Source-separated organics for food
Universal curbside recycling Self-haul to transfer stations only
generators and households

PAYT rates for homes Biweekly residential trash service Enforce source separation

Organics collection for homes Product bans and fees Focus on waste reduction

CD&D deposits for recycling CD&D targets increase Universal Zero Waste labeling

Producer responsibility for hard-to-

Zero Waste events Economic signals
recycle materials

Government internal initiatives Community education Mixed-waste processing

Community education

© Eco-Cycle 2012
 Zero Waste going mainstream

UN Environmental
Accords, 2005

#1 fix for the planet,

Newsweek, 2008

Adopted by waste
companies

Zero Waste communities

@ zwia.org
© Eco-Cycle 2012
 34
Seattle, WA State of Vermont

Leading
communities 71% Mandatory
househol compostin
d g&
recycling recycling

Markham, Ontario Portland, OR

75%
Clear
business
bags for
recycling
trash
goal
 35

Zero Waste Europe

 36

Capannori, Italy
39% decrease in waste
generation

82% diversion

First sorting center for

“whatever’s left”

Battled incinerator
Zero Waste businesses

37
 All this just from separating our discards

Recycled Food Scraps

Paper 20%
21%

Glass and Plastic Bottles Plant Trimmings

Aluminum and Steel Cans 5%
4%

Compostable Paper
& Fiber 10%
Construction and
Demolition Waste
25%

Other
courtesy of Jack Macy, SF Dept. of Environment 15%
 Zero Waste is a local
solution for:
• Jobs
• Climate
• Economy
• Soil
• Peace
• Sustainability

© Eco-Cycle 2012