Zero Waste Week

Last updated
Zero Waste Week
Official nameZero Waste Week
Observed byUnited Kingdom, United States and others
TypeInternational
DateSeptember 2 to September 6
FrequencyAnnual
First timeSeptember 2 to September 6, 2008
Started byRachelle Strauss
Rachelle Strauss with a box containing some typical items that can be recycled including paper, cardboard, cartons and aluminium. Zero-waste-week-founder-rachelle-strauss-768x1024.jpg
Rachelle Strauss with a box containing some typical items that can be recycled including paper, cardboard, cartons and aluminium.

Zero Waste Week is an environmental campaign to reduce landfill waste, and takes place annually during the first full week in September. [1] [2] [3] It is a non-commercial grass-roots campaign to demonstrate means and methods to reduce waste, foster community support [4] and bring awareness to the increasing problem of environmental waste and pollution. [2]

Contents

Aims

The aim of Zero Waste Week is reduce landfill waste, [5] increase recycling and encourage people to participate in the circular economy. [6] A Zero Waste Week campaign runs predominantly on social media and the internet and aim to reach people who want to reduce their household or business waste, reuse or recycle materials. [7]

Zero Waste week actively encourages people to reduce the use of synthetic materials and plastic packaging, and promotes plastic reuse and conscientious recycling to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill or for incineration. Zero Waste week adopts the adage there’s no such place as away meaning when we throw something away, it goes somewhere else, often causing harm or toxicity to the eco-system. The campaign's main directive is to bring awareness to people that we are all individually and collectively responsible for what we consume and that the short time of usefulness is only a small part of the overall lifecycle of any product. [2]

Zero Waste Week's long term goals are to create long term change in people's habits, including generating more demand for sustainable products, to lobby producers, and governmental decision makers, and to bring awareness for the need of good custodianship to the upcoming generation. [8] [9]

Events

Screenshot taken from Twitter, September 5, 2016 showing that the #ZeroWasteWeek trended in the UK for nine hours Zerowasteweek trending hashtag 2016.jpg
Screenshot taken from Twitter, September 5, 2016 showing that the #ZeroWasteWeek trended in the UK for nine hours

An online campaign runs during Zero Waste Week, and events organized by different groups take place in London, Scotland, New York, Hong Kong, and others. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] Local and national events are held annually where participants and communities make a concerted effort to demonstrate that household, business and industrial waste can be eliminated or reduced.

Challenges

During Zero Waste Week people are challenged to meet different goals, for example repairing clothes or sewing to combat disposable fashion, or to reduce their weekly waste so that it can fit in a jam jar. [16] [5]

History

Zero Waste week was founded by Rachelle Strauss in 2008 and began as a national campaign in the United Kingdom. [17] [18] [19] The term Zero Waste Week is now used by many organisations, groups and individuals not connected to the original campaign. [20] [2] Strauss first became interested in zero waste after being affected by the Boscastle flood of 2004, [21] [22] a freak weather event that event that she saw as the result of manmade climate change. [23] [22] In September 2008 Strauss launched the first Zero Waste Week with an internet campaign from her blog, to persuade people to reduce, reuse and recycle waste. [24] In September 2013 a new website was setup for Zero Waste Week, [25] and by 2017 people from seventy-three countries had taken part. [26] In 2018 Zero Waste Week reached its ten year milestone. [27] Many countries run their own Zero Waste Week campaign in co-ordination with the original Zero Waste week or independently. [28]

Awards and recognition

In 2015 the UK's parliament passed an early day motion to celebrate Zero Waste Week. [29] Founder Rachelle Strauss received the Points Of Light award in September 2018 from the UK government for her work on Zero Waste Week. [30]

Society and culture

Zero Waste Week was described in the National Geographic Documentary Naked Science Series: 'Surviving Nature's Fury' 2005 [31] and in the film Trashed. [32] [33]

Other campaigns for Zero Waste Week

The term Zero Waste Week has been gradually adopted by other campaigns and organisations to run a week of events and activities, often with focus on specific current sustainability issues.

National Marine Sanctuaries

Students for Zero Waste Week is a school-driven, week-long campaign to reduce waste on school campuses and within local communities and started in the year 2015/2016. [34]

Harvard University

During Earth Week 2014, Harvard University's Gutman Café held a zero waste week during which it tried to divert as much of its trash as possible from the landfill. [35]

Hong Kong Cleanup

Hong Kong Cleanup, a week long campaign of public awareness and on-ground activities. [36] [37]

The Island's Sounder

Orcas Christian School in Eastsound, Washington held Zero Waste Week during the first week of April 2018 [38] with a focus was on sustainability and re-usability. [38]

Emory University

Emory University OSI/RHA Zero Waste Week raises awareness and support for sustainable practices on campus. Students interested in reducing their waste signed up to participate received email reminders and tips about living waste-free. [39]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recycling</span> Converting waste materials into new products

Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the properties it had in its original state. It is an alternative to "conventional" waste disposal that can save material and help lower greenhouse gas emissions. It can also prevent the waste of potentially useful materials and reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reducing energy use, air pollution and water pollution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waste management</span> Activities and actions required to manage waste from its source to its final disposal

Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of waste, together with monitoring and regulation of the waste management process and waste-related laws, technologies, and economic mechanisms.

Garbology is the study of modern refuse and trash as well as the use of trash cans, compactors and various types of trash can liners. It is a major source of information on the nature and changing patterns in modern refuse, and thereby, human society. Industries wishing to demonstrate that discards originating with their products are important in the trash stream are avid followers of this research, as are municipalities wishing to learn whether some parts of the trash they collect has any salable value.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zero waste</span> Philosophy that encourages the redesign of resource life cycles so that all products are reused

Zero waste, or waste minimization, is a set of principles focused on waste prevention that encourages redesigning resource life cycles so that all products are repurposed and/or reused. The goal of the movement is to avoid sending trash to landfills, incinerators, oceans, or any other part of the environment. Currently 9% of global plastic is recycled. In a zero waste system, all materials are reused until the optimum level of consumption is reached.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plastic shopping bag</span> Type of shopping bag

Plastic shopping bags, carrier bags, or plastic grocery bags are a type of plastic bag used as shopping bags and made from various kinds of plastic. In use by consumers worldwide since the 1960s, these bags are sometimes called single-use bags, referring to carrying items from a store to a home. However, it is rare for bags to be worn out after single use and in the past some retailers incentivised customers to reuse 'single use' bags by offering loyalty points to those doing so. Even after they are no longer used for shopping, reuse for storage or trash is common, and modern plastic shopping bags are increasingly recyclable or compostable. In recent decades, numerous countries have introduced legislation restricting the provision of plastic bags, in a bid to reduce littering and plastic pollution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipal solid waste</span> Type of waste consisting of everyday items discarded by the public

Municipal solid waste (MSW), commonly known as trash or garbage in the United States and rubbish in Britain, is a waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public. "Garbage" can also refer specifically to food waste, as in a garbage disposal; the two are sometimes collected separately. In the European Union, the semantic definition is 'mixed municipal waste,' given waste code 20 03 01 in the European Waste Catalog. Although the waste may originate from a number of sources that has nothing to do with a municipality, the traditional role of municipalities in collecting and managing these kinds of waste have produced the particular etymology 'municipal.'

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waste container</span> Container to temporarily store waste

A waste container, also known as a dustbin, rubbish bin, trash can, and garbage can, among other names, is a type of container intended to store waste that is usually made out of metal or plastic. The words "rubbish", "basket" and "bin" are more common in British English usage; "trash" and "can" are more common in American English usage. "Garbage" may refer to food waste specifically or to municipal solid waste in general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Landfill diversion</span>

Waste diversion or landfill diversion is the process of diverting waste from landfills. The success of landfill diversion can be measured by comparison of the size of the landfill from one year to the next. If the landfill grows minimally or remains the same, then policies covering landfill diversion are successful. For example, currently in the United States there are 3000 landfills. A measure of the success of landfill diversion would be if that number remains the same or is reduced. In 2015 it was recorded that the national average of landfill diversion in the United States was 33.8%, while San Francisco had implemented the most effective policies and had recorded a landfill diversion rate of 77%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waste & Resources Action Programme</span>

WRAP is a British registered charity. It works with businesses, individuals and communities to achieve a circular economy, by helping them reduce waste, develop sustainable products and use resources in an efficient way.

Precycling is the practice of reducing waste by attempting to avoid buying items which will generate waste into home or business. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also cites that precycling is the preferred method of integrated solid waste management because it cuts waste at its source and therefore trash is eliminated before it is created. According to the EPA, precycling is also characterized as a decision-making process on the behalf of the consumer because it involves making informed judgments regarding a product's waste implications. The implications that are taken into consideration by the consumer include: whether a product is reusable, durable, or repairable; made from renewable or non-renewable resources; over-packaged; and whether or not the container is reusable.

There is no national law in the United States that mandates recycling. State and local governments often introduce their own recycling requirements. In 2014, the recycling/composting rate for municipal solid waste in the U.S. was 34.6%. A number of U.S. states, including California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, and Vermont have passed laws that establish deposits or refund values on beverage containers while other jurisdictions rely on recycling goals or landfill bans of recyclable materials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upcycling</span> Recycling waste into products of higher quality

Upcycling, also known as creative reuse, is the process of transforming by-products, waste materials, useless, or unwanted products into new materials or products perceived to be of greater quality, such as artistic value or environmental value.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recycling in the United Kingdom</span>

In 2015, 43.5% of the United Kingdom's municipal waste was recycled, composted or broken down by anaerobic digestion. The majority of recycling undertaken in the United Kingdom is done by statutory authorities, although commercial and industrial waste is chiefly processed by private companies. Local Authorities are responsible for the collection of municipal waste and operate contracts which are usually kerbside collection schemes. The Household Waste Recycling Act 2003 required local authorities in England to provide every household with a separate collection of at least two types of recyclable materials by 2010. Recycling policy is devolved to the administrations of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales who set their own targets, but all statistics are reported to Eurostat.

The San Francisco Mandatory Recycling and Composting Ordinance is a local municipal ordinance requiring all persons located in San Francisco to separate their recyclables, compostables and landfilled trash and to participate in recycling and composting programs. Passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 2009, it became the first local municipal ordinance in the United States to universally require source separation of all organic material, including food residuals.

Resource recovery is using wastes as an input material to create valuable products as new outputs. The aim is to reduce the amount of waste generated, thereby reducing the need for landfill space, and optimising the values created from waste. Resource recovery delays the need to use raw materials in the manufacturing process. Materials found in municipal solid waste, construction and demolition waste, commercial waste and industrial wastes can be used to recover resources for the manufacturing of new materials and products. Plastic, paper, aluminium, glass and metal are examples of where value can be found in waste.

Waste management in Russia refers to the legislation, actions and processes pertaining to the management of the various waste types encountered throughout the Russian Federation. The basis of legal governance for waste management in Russia at the federal level is outlined through Federal Law No. 89-FZ, which defines waste as “the remains of raw materials, materials, semi-finished products, other articles or products that have been formed in the process of production or consumption as well as the goods (products) that have lost their consumer properties”.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lit for Life</span> Annual literary festival

Lit for Life is an annual literary festival organised by the English daily The Hindu in Chennai, India. The festival was inaugurated in 2010, where it was part of the celebration of the 20th anniversary of The Hindu's Literary Review. In 2011 the Lit for Life became an independent one-day event. It has over the years developed into a three-day festival of literature and thought, featuring notable authors and speakers from all over the world. In 2020, the festival, that always takes place in mid-January, will celebrate its 10th anniversary. Main initiator and organiser of the Lit for Life is Dr Nirmala Lakshman, Director of The Hindu Group of Publications, and Chairperson of the Board of The Hindu Tamil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recycling in Australia</span> Method of waste management in Australia

Recycling in Australia is a widespread, and comprehensive part of waste management in Australia, with 60% of all waste collected being recycled. Recycling is collected from households, commercial businesses, industries and construction. Despite its prominence, household recycling makes up only a small part (13%) of Australia's total recycling. It generally occurs through kerbside recycling collections such as the commingled recycling bin and food/garden organics recycling bin, drop-off and take-back programs, and various other schemes. Collection and management of household recycling typically falls to local councils, with private contractors collecting commercial, industrial and construction recycling. In addition to local council regulations, legislation and overarching policies are implemented and managed by the state and federal governments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recycling in Malaysia</span>

Data from the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp) collected from January to November throughout 2018 puts the national recycling rate at 0.06%, or about 1,800 tonnes of the 3 million tonnes of waste collected in the period. Majority of the waste were sent to landfills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Closed-loop box reuse</span> Business practice

Closed Loop Box Reuse, is the process by which boxes or other containers are reused many times. It is a form of reusable packaging.

References

  1. ↑ Parthiban, K. T.; Krishnakumar, N.; Karthick, M. (2018-08-01). Introduction to Forestry & Agroforestry. Scientific Publishers. p. 325. ISBN   978-93-87991-74-3.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Zero Waste Week: What is it and how can I get involved? - CBBC Newsround" . Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  3. ↑ Norton, Siobhan (September 4, 2018). "How to cut down on household rubbish for Zero Waste Week". iNews The Essential Daily Briefing. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  4. ↑ Restorick, Trewin (2015-04-08). "Who are the Pioneers in the Fight Against Food Waste?". huffpost.com. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  5. 1 2 Strauss, Rachelle (2014-08-27). "Zero Waste Week: a challenge to send nothing to landfill". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  6. ↑ Timmermans, Frans (2015-12-07). "Towards a circular economy". European Commission. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Zero Waste Week". Zero Waste Week. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  8. ↑ "Zero Waste Week facts". Zero Waste Week. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  9. ↑ "Zero Waste Week". Investors in the Environment. 2018-09-03. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  10. ↑ Local, N. Y. U. (2016-11-16). "It's Zero Waste Week At NYU, Time To Carry Your Trash". Medium. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  11. ↑ Martin, Jake. "Flagler students get a lesson in composting, recycling". The St. Augustine Record. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  12. ↑ "Zero Waste London (London, United Kingdom)". Meetup. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  13. ↑ Zero Waste Week Scotland
  14. ↑ "Nature lover vows to clean up Hong Kong waters EJINSIGHT - ejinsight.com". EJINSIGHT. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  15. ↑ "Peterborough Environment Capital -". www.environmentcapital.org. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  16. ↑ Southworth, Phoebe (2019-09-02). "Bring back 'make do and mend' spirit to prevent £140m worth of clothes in landfill every year, campaigner urges". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  17. ↑ Cannard, Karen (September 1, 2008). "A Date to remember". The Rubbish Diet. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  18. ↑ Cole, Rob (September 3, 2018). "Majority of Britons concerned about plastic as Zero Waste Week begins". Resource Magazine. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  19. ↑ Cole, Rob (September 4, 2017). "A Zero Waste Story: How Zero Waste Week grew from organic shoots". Resource Magazine. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Home". Zero Waste Week.
  21. ↑ Strauss, Rachelle (August 27, 2014). "Zero Waste Week: a challenge to send nothing to landfill". The Guardian. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  22. 1 2 McGrath, Matt (June 1, 2014). "Climate change to boost summer flash floods, says study". BBC News Science and Environment. BBC News. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  23. ↑ Kendon, Elizabeth J.; Roberts, Nigel M.; Fowler, Hayley J.; Roberts, Malcolm J.; Chan, Steven C.; Senior, Catherine A. (2014-06-01). "Heavier summer downpours with climate change revealed by weather forecast resolution model". Nature Climate Change. 4 (7): 570–576. Bibcode:2014NatCC...4..570K. doi:10.1038/nclimate2258. ISSN   1758-678X.
  24. ↑ "Reduce your rubbish and win some prizes". MY ZERO WASTE. 2008-08-08. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  25. ↑ "ZeroWasteWeek.co.uk WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info - DomainTools". whois.domaintools.com. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  26. ↑ Cooper, Rachel (September 7, 2018). "Zero Waste Week - 'Plastic Unwrapped'". Climate Action. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  27. ↑ Cannard, Karen (August 29, 2018). "Zero Waste Week marks 10-year milestone". Bury Free Press. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  28. ↑ Wilson-Powell, Georgina (1 September 2020). "What is Zero Waste Week?". Pebble. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  29. ↑ Ferrier, Margaret (September 10, 2015). "Early Day Motion 420 Zero Waste Week". Parliament UK. Retrieved September 14, 2018. "That this House celebrates Zero Waste Week 2015, which runs between 7 and 13 September 2015; notes that it is in its eighth year owing to the hard work of founder Rachelle Strauss, co-ordinating the project in her own free time; further notes that this campaign has been successful on social media in encouraging people, businesses and charities to do more to minimise their waste by promoting re-use; agrees that reusing and recycling is vital to the preservation of this planet; and calls on the House to legislate to reduce waste and promote re-use."
  30. ↑ May, Theresa (September 3, 2018). "Zero Waste Week". Points Of Light. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
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  33. ↑ "- YouTube". YouTube .
  34. ↑ "Zero Waste Week | Office of National Marine Sanctuaries". sanctuaries.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  35. ↑ "Gutman Café: Zero Waste Week Challenge". Sustainability at Harvard. 2014-05-05. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
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  37. ↑ "HK Cleanup" . Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  38. 1 2 Mandi Johnson (2018-04-14). "OCS part of 'Zero Waste Week'". Islands' Sounder. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  39. ↑ "Zero Waste: Abandoning the Trashy Life". The Emory Wheel. 2018-04-04. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
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