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<\/a><\/p>\nI often hear the term \u201cZero Waste\u201d<\/a> in sustainability conversations, but what is zero waste and how can a business achieve it? For humans, waste is a constant reality. Our ingenuity has created processes and materials that do not integrate with the natural cycles and have no value \u2013 this is not a bi-product \u2013 it is simply waste. Plastics are a sore example of human waste. Don\u2019t misunderstand my intentions, I do not mean to state that our products are bad, just that we do not handle them properly. For example: in 2009 the US generated 30 million tons of plastic waste. Over 90% of this plastic is buried in our landfills filling up over 220,000,000 cubic yards of space. Every year this number compounds and we are forced to continue finding new space to bury this waste.<\/p>\n Keep in mind that waste is simply a by-product that has no value, and EVERY system has byproducts. Let\u2019s look at a few ways companies today can create products and processes that produce byproduct, but no waste.
\nWe must all understand that any living organism creates bi-products, commonly referred to as \u201cwaste\u201d. From a plant that produces oxygen and biomass, to animals that produce carbon dioxide and excrement and finally humans that create immense amounts of waste. Over millions of years the earth has dealt with these \u201cbi-products\u201d of life and created systems to convert this bi-product into a value. In nature there is no such word as waste.<\/p>\n
\n1.\tReduce material use \u2013 I know! Reducing does not prevent waste \u2013 but it does reduce the amount of waste you will need to address so it is key to sustainability and zero waste. Can you buy in concentrate or bulk? How about light weighting your packaging? Can you reduce multiple layers of packaging to just one?<\/p>\n