What is Zero Waste?

We can specify zero waste as the approach that aims at preventing waste, enabling efficient usage of resources, reducing generated amount of waste, and preventing waste generation, reusing, or recycling waste.

Waste is one of the most important factors that increases our carbon footprint. And the amount of waste we generate is directly related to our consumption. For example, online shopping has become an indispensable part of our lives, especially following the pandemic. However, we are not quite aware how these habits affect our carbon footprint.

We must review our production-consumption behaviors in line with the zero-waste approach and we must make this approach a standard in our lifestyle for a sustainable world. But, how?

Fundamental Principles of Zero Waste

There are 4 main principles in zero waste lifestyle: Reject, reduce, reuse/upcycle, recycle, and compost!

1- Reject: We should not buy anything we do not need; we should reject and not consume non-recyclable products.
2- Reduce: We should reduce our daily consumption needs and we should share all surplus products.
3- Reuse: Producing new products from the products we do not use, for example making toys from old cloths, making bags from old sheets, in short, not discarding materials and re-producing them! And giving back useful organic materials to the soil by composting these and preventing food waste.
4- Recycle: We should recycle all items we need and have to use which are impossible to reuse.

What are the Types of Wastes?

1- Paper: Newspaper, books, carton boxes, note pads, notebooks, paper packages may be recycled and printed materials may be produced out of recycled paper.
2- Plastic: Plastic is one of the materials which creates the highest amount of waste as we know. However, it should be noted that we are talking about single-use plastics, not the hard and multiple-use plastics when we say plastic waste. For example, plastic bottles and nylon bags are included in these single-use plastics and these constitute an important part of our waste generation.
3- Composite Material: Carton milk and juice bottles, instant soup packages, paper, and plastic mixtures such as chocolate packages.
4- Glass: Glass which is mainly made of sand, such as, drink bottles, jars...
5- Wood: Palette cases used for packaging, wooden materials such as wood chips, clippings, chip boards, plyboards, timbers.
6- Metal waste: Aluminum beverage cans, tomato paste cans, tin cans etc.
7- Waste oil: Vegetable oils etc. which we use in the kitchen and in foods. For example, used frying oils pollute more clean water than we can imagine when poured into the sink!
8- Organic waste: Vegetable and animal waste such as wheat, rye and underripe fruits and vegetables.
9- Electronic waste: Wastes such as computers, phones, vacuum cleaners, toasters, refrigerators, washing machines, dish washers, CDs and cassettes.
10- Battery: Battery wastes such as zinc, alkaline, lithium-ion batteries which have been depleted or become not usable due to physical damage.

What can we do to ensure zero waste?

• Review our needs and shop only when it is really needed.
• Use cloth bags when shopping instead of plastic bags.
• Not discard glass jars and reuse these.
• Shop from open markets instead of supermarkets.
• Not buy single-use items such as plastic straws, paper tissues.
• Not buy single-use products such as single-use shaving blades.
• Use ‘green’ cleaning products such as vinegar and baking soda.
• Reuse kitchen and food waste and compost.

What is Circular Economy in Sustainability?

​When a circular production model is adopted, the products are produced and consumed via completely eco-friendly methods, and they are reused after their functional life through recycling. In short, if a product gets too old to use, it should be recyclable in order to be used in the production of a new product. For example, produced clothing items may be biologically degradable in the soil after their economic life is over and thus, they do not damage the natural system. All materials used in industrial activities are divided into two categories as technical and biological supplies. Technical supplies are made of synthetic materials which do not harm the environment and they may be used in production without losing their qualities.

For example, products such as washing machines and televisions are designed with the purpose of re-using through technical cycles. And biological supplies are materials which are degradable in the soil in order to re-enter the natural environment after being used in the production process a few times and which do not damage the environment because they become food for microorganisms and other small living beings.

This approach would enable complete elimination of waste if implemented correctly; a supply would be food for another supply that follows. Products would not be consumed, they would be ‘used’.

Latest Trends in Zero Waste

An industrial product’s life journey starts with extraction of natural resources, and it would end by returning to nature as waste after it has been consumed. This method, called ‘From the Cradle to the Grave’, is a red alert for the planet and humanity. And this fact also created a completely new approach: ‘Cradle to Cradle’ instead of ‘From the Cradle to the Grave’.

This term was first used by Michael Braungart and William McDonough in their book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. This marked a transition from “I produce, and I don’t care about the rest” to “I am responsible for my production, for the whole journey of production and consumption.”

Principles of Sustainable Living

This circular economy approach is also valid for social constructs and construction sector. William McDonough and Michael Braungart implemented their ‘Hannover Principles’ in life. These are;

1. Accept responsibility for the consequences of design decisions upon human well-being and the viability of natural systems.
2. Insist on rights of humanity and nature to co-exist in a healthy, and sustainable condition.
3. Recognize interdependence. The elements of human design interact with and depend upon the natural world; produce accordingly.
4. Respect relationships between spirit and matter.
5. Create safe objects of long-term value. Do not burden future generations with requirements for maintenance or vigilant administration of potential danger due to the careless creation of products, processes, or standards.
6. Eliminate the concept of waste. Recycle, reuse.
7. Rely on sustainable energy resources in designs.
8. Treat nature as a model and mentor, not as an inconvenience to be evaded or controlled.
9. Encourage direct and open communication between colleagues, patrons, manufacturers, and users to link long term sustainable considerations with ethical responsibility.

In short, these new and green approaches may enable the creation of another dimension in the identity of consumer as they do in the identity of producer. The consumer does not buy the product anymore, only buys its usage rights. This is a kind of commitment to give back the purchased product by recycling it.

It is in our power to develop and maintain environmentally friendly lifestyles! We should review all our economic principles today in order to create a green future. Rethinking all processes from production to consumption is an indispensable part of a fair and green future.