Everything you ever wanted to know about zero waste

[trymahjong]

Fron CEC newsletter

Getting to Zero Waste by Susie Hairston     Zero Waste is a term that we all hear bandied about these days, but what does it really mean? Why is it important? What is a Zero Waste event? What can we do to reduce waste in our homes and communities?   The Zero Waste International Alliance defines zero waste as “The conservation of resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without burning, and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health.” In other words Zero Waste is not just about how we handle waste on the back-end, but how we design, produce and distribute things before they ever make it to the waste station.   Why do we need to concern ourselves with trying to attain Zero Waste? Houstonians produce about 10 pounds of trash per person per day. That is over twice the national average.   “As of the last EPA report in 2018, the total generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) was 292.4 million tons, with only 94 million tons recycled and composted. Today, figures from the 2022 Global Waste Index point to the fact that the US leads the world in waste generation, suggesting that these statistics are already well out of date. “ https://www.zerowaste.com/blog/what-is-zero-waste-a-guide-to-resource-recovery-and-conservation/   According to Earth Overshoot, World Counts and others, we live in a country where every year we consume 5 Earth’s worth of resources. What this means is that we are using up the Earth 5 times faster than it can restore itself — cutting down the trees, polluting/using up the water, etc. It’s like continuing to withdraw pieces of the initial chunk of money that you invested rather than living off the interest and dividends — eventually, your investment is completely depleted and there is nothing left with which to generate more money to live on.   Zero Waste Events Zero waste events are becoming more common, though not common enough. More and more people are starting to expect that public events manage their waste more responsibly and are pressuring cities, private companies, and institutions to do better. Discovery Green’s 2024 Earth Day Event was certified Zero Waste. The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival was a Zero Waste event for several years. The City of West U’s 2024 Centennial Celebration was a Zero Waste event. These institutions and municipalities are leaders and should be applauded for setting an example.    Are these events really producing Zero Waste? No. Zero waste events are defined as events that send 10% or less material to the landfill. This means 90% or more of the leftovers from the event are reusable, recyclable or compostable. Unless everything purchased/donated/made on the front end of the event is something that can be reused, composted, or recycled, it is impossible to achieve an event where there is no waste that goes to the landfill.   Impacts of choices made before people get to the waste station: You can see if all of the serving items at an event are styrofoam or mixed material items that are not recyclable, that it would be hard for an event to achieve a zero waste goal. The more disposable vinyl tablecloths and plastic promotional materials used, the harder it is to send nothing to the landfill. You can only compost what is compostable, you can only reuse what is designed to be reused, and you can only recycle that which is designed to be recyclable.   Zero Waste involves minimizing production and consumption For example, though single-use plastic water bottles can be recycled and kept out of the landfill, it is preferable to not sell bottled water at an event and  instead encourage attendees to bring their own reusable water bottles and provide a large reusable water dispenser or two. The production, distribution and use of plastic water bottles is fraught with waste and toxins that are harmful to humans and the environment, and plastics persist in the environment releasing toxins for 100s of years, never biodegrading.   The key question and the way forward If you are starting to ask  — “why aren’t all things designed to be either reusable, recyclable or compostable” and “why are we making things that are toxic and persist in our environment for hundreds of years?” you are asking the right questions. The solution to our waste problem does not lie so much in how we manage it on the back-end, though that is part of it. The solution lies in redesigning what we create and the materials and processes that we use to create things.   What can you do to help us all get to Zero Waste: Events If you are part of organizing an event or even an attendee, encourage the organizers to set a Zero Waste goal for the event. At the minimum, make sure the event is sorting waste into donations, recyclables, compostables, and landfill items and using composting and recycling services and donating leftover items. But you should also encourage minimizing procurement and ensuring that all the items used at the event, from what the food is served on, to the decorations, to the promotional gifts, are either reusable, recyclable or compostable. For example, use reusable plates and utensils or compostable ones rather than toxic and unrecyclable styrofoam ones. Encourage sponsors to give away edible promotional materials such as cookies rather than plastic toys that end up in the trash almost immediately.    At home In everyday life, aspiring to Zero Waste involves asking questions such as: Do I need this? Can I borrow or rent it instead? If I do need this, is this the highest quality, most long-lasting version of the item I need? Was it made with the least impact on the earth? Is there a version with minimal or no packaging? Is it made of things that can be recycled or composted when it reaches the end of its useful life?  Aspiring to Zero Waste at home also involves recycling and composting as much of the waste your household produces as you can. Food waste alone makes up 24% of landfilled municipal solid waste. Composting that instead of landfilling it is a big step on the way to zero waste. Being a thoughtful consumer and recycling and composting help lower your individual waste footprint, and your example can help others decrease their waste, but in order to help get our society as a whole to Zero Waste, we need to do more.   Long-term System Change -- A call to Action: Advocate for all events in your community to be Zero Waste Events Vote with your wallet — don’t buy products that are toxic or not designed to be recyclable or compostable at the end of their useful lives, or have excessive packaging Start or participate in campaigns putting pressure on manufacturers of products that are toxic, overly packaged, made to break and not be repairable, and/or are not recyclable/compostable at the end of life Advocate for the passage of EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) Laws, like the one Maineh has, which make the manufacturers of products responsible for properly disposing of them when they are discarded. When manufacturers, rather than consumers, have to deal with and pay for the proper disposal of the waste left over from their poorly designed products, they are motivated to redesign them to be more sustainable, less toxic, and easily recyclable or compostable at the end of their useful lives.