Zero Waste is a philosophy aiming to redesign the life cycle of resources. All products should be reused and prevented from entering the waste stream for as long as possible. The main goal of the Zero Waste Movement is for no trash to be sent to landfills or incinerators.
FROM AN ECONOMIC VIEWPOINTFor the global economy, the Zero Waste Movement has a goal to shift from the current linear economy to one that is circular. A linear economy is one where any material used to make a product directly enters the waste stream at the end of its lifetime. Instead of this, the Zero Waste Movement aims for a circular economy where resources are used for as long as possible then recovered and regenerated at the end of their lifetime.
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This picture illustrates the different types of economies (linear, recycling, circular). As demonstrated by the arrows, each economy approaches discarded materials and waste in a different way. |
WHY IS THIS MOVEMENT NEEDED?
Today's society has issues of overconsumption and consumerism. People today have a mentality to buy products that may not certainly last long, and continue to repurchase them. This has made us into a 'consumerism society' that repeatedly buys products, creates waste, and repurchases. As people contribute to the waste stream, discarded materials are continuously being added to landfills to negatively impact the environment and human health.
CONSUMERISMConsumerism is a social and economic idea that encourages purchasing goods and services in continuously increasing amounts. By 2020, it is predicted that there will be 3.2 billion consumers worldwide.
Consumerism has been designed to be easy. People are encouraged to continue their unhealthy pattern of consumption as it is the most convenient way of living. Though this may be easy and make us happy, it is certainly not 'smart-spending' as 99% of the things we consume are trashed within six months. The more we consume, the more waste we create, and the more that is added to landfills.
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On the right (click to expand):
This picture illustrates the lifecycle of products relative to today's consumerism society and resource destruction. |
LANDFILLS
To put how much waste we produce into perspective:
Each year, 2.12 billion tons of waste is produced globally. If all of this waste was put onto trucks, they could go around the world 24 times.
In total, 2.6 trillion pounds of waste — the weight of 7,000 empire state buildings — are currently sitting in landfills right now. On the right: click to expand to learn the basics about landfills.
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The two main issues associated with landfills are methane and leachate. Methane is a strong greenhouse gas emitted by landfills. As the amount of methane in the atmosphere continues to grow, electromagnetic waves from the sun get trapped. While these electromagnetic waves enter the atmosphere, the earth continues to be heated, thus further causing global warming.
Leachate is the liquid that 'leaches', or leaks, out of landfills. It poses problems on both human health and the environment. As leachate contains inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals, heavy metals, and pathogens, it creates toxic conditions and poses a health risk for anyone in the surrounding environment. While leachate spreads through the soil, the toxic chemicals and metals in the liquid will hinder plant growth and decrease productivity.
Leachate is the liquid that 'leaches', or leaks, out of landfills. It poses problems on both human health and the environment. As leachate contains inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals, heavy metals, and pathogens, it creates toxic conditions and poses a health risk for anyone in the surrounding environment. While leachate spreads through the soil, the toxic chemicals and metals in the liquid will hinder plant growth and decrease productivity.