What exactly is Zero Waste, anyways?

by Sarah Koplowicz

Zero Waste is a path, a policy direction, a goal, a new approach to thinking about and dealing with discarded resources that goes beyond merely recycling what we can recover from what would otherwise be thrown away. Instead, we’re moving toward a new paradigm where everything is recycled and designed to be from the beginning. The over-arching concept is that all “waste equals food,” just like in nature. It is a whole system approach, which means ‘waste’ is eliminated from the system, efficiency is improved and all material resources are reused, repaired, or recycled back into the environment and the marketplace. Currently, as much as 90% of materials produced end up in landfills. Soon, it will be the other way around and eventually UC Davis, along with the other UC campuses, which have pledged to become completely Zero Waste by 2020 will be leading the way towards Zero Waste.

This may seem like a difficult goal, but it is not only easy to be Zero Waste—it can actually save us money! By improving efficiency, maximizing the use of resources and reducing disposal costs, many businesses are saving money by going Zero Waste. It can also improve competitiveness in industry and always reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Any campus event can be made Zero Waste, which helps reduce our dependence on resources such as timber, petroleum, water, energy and land. By diverting waste sent to the UC Davis landfill, the campus saves money with recycling and composting. Zero Waste results in positive social, environmental, and economic outcomes including bigger profits, more jobs and no waste.

What are the 4 R’s of the recycling program? First, reducing means consuming and throwing away less. Source reduction actually prevents the generation of waste in the first place, so it is the most preferred method of waste management and is crucial for protecting the environment. Second, reusing items — by repairing them, sharing them, donating them to charity and community groups, or selling them — also reduces waste and resource consumption. Reusing products, when possible, is even better than recycling because the item does not need to be reprocessed before it can be used again. Third, recycling turns materials that would otherwise become waste into valuable products. And fourth, rebuying recycled products and packaging makes recycling economically feasible. When we buy recycled products, we create an economic incentive for recyclable materials to be collected, manufactured, and marketed as new products. Remember, you’re not recycling unless you’re also buying recycled products and closing the loop.

For campus events, reusable dishware is preferred. However, disposable dishware can be purchased from the Zero Waste project at R4 Recycling, with 100% biodegradable utensils! Since these products are made from corn and other plants, they decompose just like food residue. For smaller events, we have Fun Packs with plates and utensils for 50 people, and compostable bags for waste. Zero Waste also encourages food bought in bulk to minimize wasteful packaging, and bringing your own water bottle or mug to Zero Waste events like Picnic Day and Relay for Life.

Creating a sustainable system is not just having Zero Waste at campus events, it requires lifestyle changes. For example, the Davis Food Co-op located on G St. and 6th is a fantastic place to buy groceries. They have a wide selection of food and household products that are in bulk, organic, fair trade, are locally produced. You can actually do all your shopping without buying any non-recyclable packaging – TRY IT! It’s easy, cheap and fun to shop for Zero Waste. They also have reusable cloth grocery bags for sale, a big step toward Zero Waste, because plastic grocery bags alone cost millions of dollars to process and landfill, and are almost impossible to recycle. Every year the United States uses 30 million plastic bags and 10 billion paper bags, consuming 14 million trees and 12 million barrels of oil. Plastic bags kill over 100,000 marine animals every year, and are the second-leading cause of suffocation among human infants. Other harmful effects that are often ignored are “externalities” such as pollution, climate change, biodiversity decline, and the impact on human health. Replacing wasteful plastic and paper bags with reusable or compostable grocery bags would significantly change our impact on the environment.

A major step towards becoming Zero Waste is avoiding products with toxins or mined resources, and imported goods. Instead, replace wasteful products with organic, biodegradable, and local products. Websites such as http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/RecycleStore/ catalog manufacturers of recycled-content products. Recycled products can be bought wholesale or individually, and can often be customized. When “waste equals food”, products are designed to decompose into nutrients for something new, or circulate in industrial cycles without being “downcycled” into other end-of-the line products like disposable water bottles turned into a fleece jacket. Even better than compostable and recycled products are reusable products, such as milk bottles that can be refilled over and over. To create a culture of sustainability, we should reuse and reprocess everything from electronics to toxic chemicals like Mercury. Manufacturers need to be on board for this and many are leading the way with computer take back programs. At UC Davis, rebuying at the Bargain Barn is a great way to buy inexpensive used furniture and electronics—and even better, it reuses products rather than wasting the resources to make new items.

The process of Zero Waste is actually quite simple: We stop waste at its source, reusable products are returned and reused, compostable items are composted, and recyclable products are recycled – it’s that easy! Every step is crucial to the Zero Waste Program. As a result of our efforts, UC Davis has a 95% average diversion rate for all Zero Waste events!

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 3rd, 2011 at 11:33 pm and is filed under \"Waste\". You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.