Waste is one of the main culprits in the world ofecocide. Indeed, waste fulfils all the commandments of ecocide ; it causes environmental destruction, it damages ecosystems, it threatens any sort of life and ignores the rights of future generations. Waste is living proof of the degree of selfishness and stupidity that the most intelligent generation of human beings on this planet has been seen to indulge in.
By Joan Marc Simon, the Executive Director of Zero Waste Europe
Nature creates no waste, it is an original human invention. In nature nothing and nobody goes to waste because the definition of an ecosystem is that it is a system of cooperative and symbiotic relationships; the discards of one process are the input for another one. Everything is upcycled into the system in a way that the system is sustainable and resilient. In an ecosystem all energy used is renewable and non-polluting. All resources are obtained in the vicinity using non-extractive, low-energy-intensive techniques. Processes take place at normal local temperatures and pressure and combustion is not an option. The current linear throw-away society is the opposite to sustainability; resources are extracted, transported, manufactured, sold, used and discarded, committing ecocide almost at each and every step of the process.
Following the example of nature, Zero Waste is a philosophy, a strategy and a goal targeted at emulating sustainable natural cycles, where all discarded materials are resources for others to use. Zero Waste means designing and managing products and processes to reduce the volume and toxicity of waste and materials, conserving and recovering all resources, eliminating the need to burn or bury them. Implementing Zero Waste will remove all discharges to land, water, or air that may threaten planetary, human, animal or plant health.
Zero Waste – a movement of people around the world
But beyond definitions, Zero Waste is a movement of people around the world who are working everyday not to improve the management of waste but to phase it out of the system completely. Zero Waste people and communities work at different levels of the production and consumption chain in order to minimise the environmental impact and close the cycles.
By Joan Marc Simon, the Executive Director of Zero Waste Europe
Nature creates no waste, it is an original human invention. In nature nothing and nobody goes to waste because the definition of an ecosystem is that it is a system of cooperative and symbiotic relationships; the discards of one process are the input for another one. Everything is upcycled into the system in a way that the system is sustainable and resilient. In an ecosystem all energy used is renewable and non-polluting. All resources are obtained in the vicinity using non-extractive, low-energy-intensive techniques. Processes take place at normal local temperatures and pressure and combustion is not an option. The current linear throw-away society is the opposite to sustainability; resources are extracted, transported, manufactured, sold, used and discarded, committing ecocide almost at each and every step of the process.
Following the example of nature, Zero Waste is a philosophy, a strategy and a goal targeted at emulating sustainable natural cycles, where all discarded materials are resources for others to use. Zero Waste means designing and managing products and processes to reduce the volume and toxicity of waste and materials, conserving and recovering all resources, eliminating the need to burn or bury them. Implementing Zero Waste will remove all discharges to land, water, or air that may threaten planetary, human, animal or plant health.
Zero Waste – a movement of people around the world
But beyond definitions, Zero Waste is a movement of people around the world who are working everyday not to improve the management of waste but to phase it out of the system completely. Zero Waste people and communities work at different levels of the production and consumption chain in order to minimise the environmental impact and close the cycles.
For instance, the network of Zero Waste municipalities, circle more than 200 in Europe alone, are committed to sending zero waste to landfills or incinerators as soon as possible. Many of these municipalities are already individually collecting more than 80% of the waste which means that they provide good feedstock for composters and biogas plants which produce renewable energy, and organic matter to improve the soils and avoid desertification. They enable the high the recycling of high quality paper, plastic, glass and metals which then save the cutting down of new forests or the opening of new mines to extract new resources. And they facilitate the closing of incinerators and landfills, which destroy the environment and cause the whole process of extraction to start again.
Waste reduction – ban on bottled water and single-use plastic bags
But Zero Waste is not only about more and better recycling, it is also about reducing waste creation in the first place. In Zero Waste communities the generation of plastic packaging has been radically decreased thanks to the opening of public fountains, dispensers of liquids such as milk, honey or detergents in bulk, the ban on bottled water or single-use plastic bags, the implementation of green procurement, policies to stop spillage of food-waste and many other initiatives. For instance, in Denmark, the top waste producer per capita in Europe, almost 400kg of waste per person per year was sent to polluting incinerators. In Zero Waste communities the annual waste sent for disposal per person is below 100kg and some of them are even close to 50kg. This means that not only the environmental impact of Zero Waste citizens is 4 times less than that of the average Dane, it also means that the need to extract new resources is much lower.
New quality jobs for the people
Because Zero Waste is based on the proximity principle, most discards are treated as close as possible to where they are generated. This means that sustainable and decent jobs are created to collect and recycle the waste, that innovation thrives in order to create products that are non-toxic and easy to recycle and that the total cost for the community, and also for new generations, are also reduced.
Moreover there are many other positive external factors associated with a Zero Waste strategy. For instance, in Capannori, the first European town to adopt the Zero Waste methodology, is recycling almost 90% of the waste and generating new jobs in the collection of waste, and it has also generated new jobs in associated sectors. For instance, thanks to the Zero Waste policy new shops such as Effecorta have opened which sell local products without packaging, or a re-use centre where people can donate their old stuff where it is given a second life, thereby reducing waste and generating stimulus in the local economy.
A company supplying reusable nappies –Ecobimbi- is also thriving thanks to the opportunity given by the Zero Waste strategy. One of the consequences of such an array of virtuous initiatives is that nobody now remembers that one day a company wanted to build an incinerator in the town, which would have polluted the air and destroyed the source of the renewable and resilient economy that is now a reality. As we can see, the more Zero Waste is implemented the less ecocide there will be.
It’s about environmental justice
But Zero Waste is also much more. It is about environmental justice, so that pollution and waste treatment facilities are not concentrated in the poor and disenfranchised communities. It is about inclusion, so that the millions of people worldwide who make a living by collecting and selling discarded materials (e.g waste pickers, catadores, grassroots recyclers) are able to live with dignity. It’s about putting money into real solutions, and combatting corruption. It’s about communities getting better organised, it’s about education, and democracy, so that all citizens can participate in local resource management plans. And funding is fairly distributed, so that all businesses and manufacturers understand and fulfil their role in minimising waste and designing products for the future.
In places where incinerators or landfills are built there is a clear democratic problem triggered by corruption or incompetency, or both. These are places in which the citizens are ecocided for the sake of economic profit or in order to allow some other richer communities elsewhere to continue to live with the illusion of a planet without limits. We can’t continue to run a throw-away economy on a finite planet and waste is today a global issue. There is no place called “away”. Millions and millions of tons of plastic waste are now on the sea-bed or floating around in our oceans, breaking into small pieces which are entering the food chain and exterminating the fauna and affecting us all, rich and poor. The throw away society is consuming more energy than ever to extract resources which are becoming more difficult to reach and all of this to produce a short-lived designed-for-the-dump product, which we will use for a little time before we send it to the landfill, the incinerator or dump into nature.
Waste has no future
Waste has no future, waste is, in itself, ecocide. Zero Waste is a very simple way to fight ecocide starting from our everyday life and allows us to take action with friends, neighbours and communities to change the world, one community at a time.
Waste reduction – ban on bottled water and single-use plastic bags
But Zero Waste is not only about more and better recycling, it is also about reducing waste creation in the first place. In Zero Waste communities the generation of plastic packaging has been radically decreased thanks to the opening of public fountains, dispensers of liquids such as milk, honey or detergents in bulk, the ban on bottled water or single-use plastic bags, the implementation of green procurement, policies to stop spillage of food-waste and many other initiatives. For instance, in Denmark, the top waste producer per capita in Europe, almost 400kg of waste per person per year was sent to polluting incinerators. In Zero Waste communities the annual waste sent for disposal per person is below 100kg and some of them are even close to 50kg. This means that not only the environmental impact of Zero Waste citizens is 4 times less than that of the average Dane, it also means that the need to extract new resources is much lower.
New quality jobs for the people
Because Zero Waste is based on the proximity principle, most discards are treated as close as possible to where they are generated. This means that sustainable and decent jobs are created to collect and recycle the waste, that innovation thrives in order to create products that are non-toxic and easy to recycle and that the total cost for the community, and also for new generations, are also reduced.
Moreover there are many other positive external factors associated with a Zero Waste strategy. For instance, in Capannori, the first European town to adopt the Zero Waste methodology, is recycling almost 90% of the waste and generating new jobs in the collection of waste, and it has also generated new jobs in associated sectors. For instance, thanks to the Zero Waste policy new shops such as Effecorta have opened which sell local products without packaging, or a re-use centre where people can donate their old stuff where it is given a second life, thereby reducing waste and generating stimulus in the local economy.
A company supplying reusable nappies –Ecobimbi- is also thriving thanks to the opportunity given by the Zero Waste strategy. One of the consequences of such an array of virtuous initiatives is that nobody now remembers that one day a company wanted to build an incinerator in the town, which would have polluted the air and destroyed the source of the renewable and resilient economy that is now a reality. As we can see, the more Zero Waste is implemented the less ecocide there will be.
It’s about environmental justice
But Zero Waste is also much more. It is about environmental justice, so that pollution and waste treatment facilities are not concentrated in the poor and disenfranchised communities. It is about inclusion, so that the millions of people worldwide who make a living by collecting and selling discarded materials (e.g waste pickers, catadores, grassroots recyclers) are able to live with dignity. It’s about putting money into real solutions, and combatting corruption. It’s about communities getting better organised, it’s about education, and democracy, so that all citizens can participate in local resource management plans. And funding is fairly distributed, so that all businesses and manufacturers understand and fulfil their role in minimising waste and designing products for the future.
In places where incinerators or landfills are built there is a clear democratic problem triggered by corruption or incompetency, or both. These are places in which the citizens are ecocided for the sake of economic profit or in order to allow some other richer communities elsewhere to continue to live with the illusion of a planet without limits. We can’t continue to run a throw-away economy on a finite planet and waste is today a global issue. There is no place called “away”. Millions and millions of tons of plastic waste are now on the sea-bed or floating around in our oceans, breaking into small pieces which are entering the food chain and exterminating the fauna and affecting us all, rich and poor. The throw away society is consuming more energy than ever to extract resources which are becoming more difficult to reach and all of this to produce a short-lived designed-for-the-dump product, which we will use for a little time before we send it to the landfill, the incinerator or dump into nature.
Waste has no future
Waste has no future, waste is, in itself, ecocide. Zero Waste is a very simple way to fight ecocide starting from our everyday life and allows us to take action with friends, neighbours and communities to change the world, one community at a time.
Source: http://goo.gl/cWudoU
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