A zero waste future

What could it look like, and how can we get there?

What is zero waste?

The internationally accepted definition of zero waste centers resource conservation through responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of materials without burning or discharging health-threatening pollutants to land, water, or air.

Hand holding green sprout in a mound of dirt with semicircle of yellow arrows
Resource Conservation
Yellow cog with green leaf
Responsible Production
 Water drop with dial meter with white, green, yellow, and red settings. Arrow is pointing to green
Responsible Consumption
Cube with cycle green, blue, yellow, and red arrows
Reuse
 Circular yellow arrow enclosing a blue checkmark
Recovery

Models for waste reduction

Cities across the world have undertaken initiatives to further their waste reduction goals. We can learn from the examples below as we work together to envision and build a sustainable future without the HERC.

Zero Waste USA logo
Minneapolis
Zero Waste USA put together The People's Transition Plan, a detailed guide for Hennepin County to get to zero waste after the HERC is shut down. A 2-page summary of the transition plan is available here.
Implosion of Detroit incinerator causes smokestack to fall to the groundSource
Detroit
In 2019, Detroit residents won a hard-won struggle to shut down the city's incinerator. Since then, Detroit has been doing the hard work to develop programs that divert materials from the landfills that now take the city's trash. A grassroots community composting program is set to launch in Summer 2025.
Gray, green, and blue waste collection bins on a street with a San Francisco skyline backgroundSource
San Francisco
San Francisco's Zero Waste program is innovative for its numerous policies and incentive programs to support waste reduction. For example, they provide free reusable foodware to restaurants, cafes, and large institutions, and there are opportunities to apply for an automatic dishwashing grant to reduce use of single-use plastic foodware.
Thrift shop attached to Kamikatsu's recycling center where residents can drop off and take itemsSource
Kamikatsu, Japan
The town of Kamikatsu has a strong culture of waste sorting. Residents sort waste into 27 different categories in their homes and bring materials to a recycling center where the materials are further sorted into 40 different categories. Kamikatsu is also working with companies to update packaging, which parallels extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws in the United States. (Video and article on Kamikatsu)
Green Army volunteers in Kerala carrying bags of wasteSource
Kerala, India
Kerala, the southernmost state of India, has moved to a decentralized waste management system. In Trivandrum, Kerala's capital city, over 1000 members of a Green Action Force and a large number of Green Army volunteers help manage this distributed system by collecting waste, managing numerous local compost stations, and managing city events.
Waste center on Apo Island in the Phillipines. Sign says 'Apo Island goes zero waste'Source
Phillipines
To facilitate the impelmentation of Phillipine's Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, the Mother Earth Foundation developed the 10-Step Manual to Implementing a Community Zero Waste Program. The approach in this manual features a distributed waste management system with a strong emphasis on targeted education and communication campaigns.