Waste is a social, environmental, and public health problem in our country. The production of 1 ton of trash by each American every year translates into an ever increasing challenge to municipalities' waste management departments and an ever increasing threat to the quality of our air, our drinking water, and our quality of life.

The Zero Waste Model provides a solution by shifting the one-use throw-away paradigm of our society to a cyclical pattern of reuse and renewal. The model is gaining popularity internationally, currently taking root from New Zealand to Scotland, from France to California. The key to implementation is the promotion of a close-loop approach to materials and manufacturing-industry must take responsibility for the waste associated with its products, government must set mandates that limit the entrance of virgin materials in the production stream, and consumers must exercise their power and support waste-conscious brands.

The steps toward zero are neither complex nor revolutionary:

• Separate waste, providing multiple-container curbside collection.
• Consider waste audits and pay-as-you-throw strategies.
• Promote the reuse markets: consignment stores and flea markets.
• Compost.
• Use recycling programs to their fullest potential.
• Promote volume source reduction - promote the reduction of packaging materials and the production of more durable products.
• Insist on producer responsibility, encouraging manufacturers to produce only what they will be able to recycle back into future production.

For more information:

Grassroots Recycling Network - http://www.grrn.org/zerowaste/index.html

Zero Waste International Alliance - http://www.zwia.org

Zero Waste America - http://zerowasteamerica.org

Ecocycle - http://www.ecocycle.org