Is Zero Waste Possible? Zero Waste Definition

At the beginning of my sustainable journey when my mum gave me some handmade cloth menstrual pads, I’d never considered the term zero waste let alone is zero waste even possible? However, when I decided to take my sustainable journey a bit more seriously in 2020 I started to hear it questioned a lot, is zero waste possible and what is the true zero waste definition?

Zero waste has become a term used quite often but not always showing the true sense of the word. I’ll admit when posting on my socials or discussing things in the past, even I have used the term zero waste even though what I’m referring to isn’t a zero waste product or a zero waste option. It’s a term that has been widely recognised as doing everything that you can sustainably, which for the average consumer is correct. That-being-said the phrase was not created with consumers only in mind.

During my thoughts on this subject I did also wonder, is zero waste possible these days? I hope to delve into this deeper in my blog post below.

What Does Being Zero Waste Mean

In order to establish, is zero waste possible we need to look at the zero waste definition and where it comes from. Merriam-Webster states the following about zero waste:

Zero-Waste adjective

Variations – Zero Waste

Definition: generating little or no waste e.g a zero waste event or zero waste manufacturing

zero waste noun

The creative waste management strategy of “zero waste” is a combination of community and industrial responsibility deconstruction in spite of demolition, composting to keep odorous organic waste out of landfills, recycling and a screening facility to allow more separation and reuse of waste rather than incineration. – Aimee Dolloff

I thought this last bit was interesting as I’ve heard it mentioned that the true zero waste definition was never meant to be for consumers and more for businesses to reduce waste in all areas, from production to the end product.

Zero Waste International Alliance

This organisation is working towards a world without waste through public education and practical application of zero waste principles. This organisations zero waste definition is as follows:

“Zero Waste: The conservation of all 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.”

This organisation is truly zero waste explained simply, even for simple folk like myself who don’t know a huge amount about business management.

Who Started Zero Waste

There’s a common misconception that Bea Johnson who wrote the book Zero Waste Home, created the phrase Zero Waste. However, the term was actually first used by a Chemist called Paul Palmer in the 1970’s, he later became a director of the company Zero Waste Institute which aimed to reduce the chemical waste in laboratories across the United States. You can read more about it here.

Bea Johnson in the 21st Century with her blog Zero Waste Home, brought the principles of zero waste Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rot to hundreds of thousands of people. Since then there has been a lot of people almost redefining the zero waste definition and filling their mason jars for the month or year with the plastic waste they have been unable to avoid.

ZWIA Charter Principles

1. Convert wasting to managing resources for the benefits of local production and the creation of a sustainable society.
2. Redesign products and methods of production to eliminate waste by mimicking natural processes and closed-loops
3. Resist incineration and land filling in order to promote innovation in resource conservation and methods of production
4. Collaborate with others with common interests worldwide.

Zero Waste Explained Simply

This Zero Waste article, discusses the zero waste hierarchy and the difference between cradle-grave and cradle-cradle systems. Currently it seems that cradle-cradle is what’s used commonly in business, it’s known as a Linear model which starts with resource extraction, through manufacturing and ends with the final product ending in landfill which is also known as an open-loop system.

What businesses should be aiming for is the cradle-grave system which is a circular model aiming to reduce waste. Also known as a closed-loop system that promotes sustainability and strives for zero waste through reduction, reuse and recycle. The main zero waste principles for zero waste explained.

In terms of individual brands, those that are following these zero waste principles will likely be Certified B Corporations as this strict certification looks at an individual brand to ensure they are doing everything they can socially and environmentally. I think we’re starting to see the answer to our question is zero waste possible, if some businesses and consumers can adopt these principles successfully, then surely we all can?

What Is A Circular Economy?

To elaborate on the mentioned above, circular model. The definition of a circular economy as stated by the Ellen Macarthur Foundation is as follows:

 “A framework for an economy that is restorative and regenerative by design”

On the Ellen Macarthur Foundation website they have a really useful video you can watch that explains this system in just a few minutes, however I will try to do this myself.

In nature the system is fully circular as the plants grow and then they’re eaten, things grow and then they die and the nutrients are returned to the soil. The problem with our system is that businesses make things using lots of resources, then consumers buy these things and then, way too quickly we throw these things away and they end up at landfill.

The circular economy is an idea based on how we can use this circular approach that works so well for nature already, to reduce waste around the world. Of course this would require us to rethink how the current system we have in place for technical items, for example a washing machine breaks and then we send it to landfill and buy a new one. This is incredibly wasteful when you think of millions of people worldwide doing this.

A circular economy would mean that the washing machine instead is returned to the manufacturer who would reuse all of the parts to create something new, whether that’s a new washing machine or something different altogether. Of course this will only work if the entire world’s businesses and consumers adopted this circular system.

What Zero Waste Means To Me

Now that I have researched the actual zero waste definition to share with you and we have a clear idea of what it mean, there seems to be more of a bigger picture than I initially thought. Zero waste explained in the true sense wasn’t supposed to apply to individual consumers.

As I’ve mentioned before, labelling myself as being zero waste before hadn’t crossed my mind. I genuinely thought 10 years ago that zero waste could only be applied to the zero waste people who have their mason jar filled with plastic waste. Of course, this is not the case and this is potentially off-putting for anyone interested in living sustainably. Seeing the jar and believing that they could never achieve that so deciding to not even try!

For me zero waste explained on a consumer level is to constantly look at my consumer behaviour to ensure that I’m doing everything that I can to reduce my household waste and carbon footprint.

I’m definitely not perfect as I always declare, however I do follow the rules of Reduce Reuse and finally Recycle. I buy everything that I can secondhand and if something breaks I will always look for ways to mend or fix it first of all.

“We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.” – Anne Marie Bonneau

For me it is more about mindset and only buying things if I absolutely have to, if I have no other choice but to buy something then I will look to buy it secondhand.

I know a lot of people do not like the zero waste definition because it’s misleading, it makes you think that the goal is to create absolutely no waste altogether which in our current economy is very difficult to achieve. Due to this it can make us question is zero waste possible for the future.

If you want to know about my must-have zero waste kitchen essentials click here.

Is Zero Waste Possible

Finally, in order to answer the question is zero waste possible? I think when you think of the zero waste definition as being restrictive and the ultimate goal being to create no waste then it is very difficult to achieve. I do think zero waste is possible, but perhaps not for everyone. There are always going to be barriers for some people such as budget, time and location.

Of course another reason that individuals might find zero waste difficult to achieve – would be due to our current systems we have in place. Even if we ourselves send nothing to landfill – there is still waste from the manufacturing process for everything we buy new. Even if we buy everything we can secondhand in our lifetime there will still be times that we buy new items because we have no other choice.

Everything that is bought new has a carbon footprint. I’ve even heard that some zero waste stores which sell products individually will have these items sent to them in packaging. Which they dispose of and then separate the products to be sold to consumers as ‘zero waste’.

However, to me this does not mean that zero waste is not possible. It just means that we need to redefine how we think of zero waste. We need to think of it as something that means we are constantly thinking about our personal waste and our families waste. Zero waste might not be a realistic goal but it doesn’t mean that we don’t need to change anything within our lives. Granted the responsibility is not ours because there’s only so much that we can do because of the linear economy.

To consumers, zero waste should really mean low waste or low impact living – where we try to minimise our impact on the earth as much as possible. I know some environmentalists just prefer not to use this term anymore and I do understand that. However, like I’ve said before – it’s such a widely recognised term that it has literally changed it’s definition over the years.

Personally I that the question should not be is zero waste possible but is a circular economy possible. That one’s slightly easier to answer because the answer is most definitely yes.

I also talked about if zero waste is just for the privileged if you like this sort of content. If you’re looking for inspiration, check out my 100 sustainable quotes post.

I’m not sure how well I answered the question, is zero waste possible because there’s definitely a lot to consider with the zero waste definition and our current systems. Leave me a comment if you have your own thoughts on this subject, I’m interested to see other people’s opinions.

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