The zero-waste movement praises businesses that use, design, and sell products or services that diminish litter sent to landfills by either repurposing or eliminating junk thus achieving natural sustainability.
What is a Zero Waste Business
A zero-waste business aims to reuse junk and eliminate single-use items such as clothes, food and other packaging, bottles, cosmetics, paper, and organic leftovers via alternative plastic-free and sustainable products.
At best, a zero-waste business will develop cycles to reuse discarded materials from process X as resources for process Y. At the consumer level, the number of zero-waste stores grows worldwide.
Unfortunately, the no-waste concept and habits cause lobbyists to pitch zero-waste as equal to incineration to shareholders and the wide public thus corrupting ideals throughout the recent history of the zero-waste movement.
Garbage incinerators cause severe air pollution and ash, which still needs a landfill. Zero waste and incineration are mutually exclusive. It’s a self-contradicting pair that goes against the culture of conventional economics.
Truth is, we vote with our money and big business has to listen.
The problem is the lavish overconsumption of resources we don’t reuse. If you want to do what’s right, then teach yourself, friends, and family why reducing waste matters.
- Avoid single-use disposables.
- Avoid what you can not recycle.
- Support businesses of reusable products.
And when it comes to waste in the context of business processes? Experts note, that taking advantage of systems already built can and does save business not only financial cost, but also time. Why investing when you can utilize a proven model and focus on business.
Certification of businesses and communities was the goal of the “Zero Waste brand”. The Zero Waste International Alliance and Grass Roots Recycling Network (ZWUSA) assisted with guiding the effort through the United States Zero Waste Business Council.